The quest to replace naturally produced meat with man-made substitutes has taken many unconventional turns, but splicing bovine DNA into plants may rank as one of the most bizarre yet.

Despite billions of dollars in investment backing, the many attempts to replicate meat from plants have met largely ill-fated customer and commercial results.

Dozens of startups are now competing to use laboratories and silver tanks to mimic what cattle and other meat producing animals grazing on grasslands have produced naturally for millennia.

From extrusion processes and 3D printing to cultured cells and precision fermentation there seems to be no end to the ways in which food startups believe they can better what the natural environment already produces on its own.

Another that has made headlines this week uses a process called “molecular farming”.

A Luxembourg based company called Moolec is inserting animal genes into plants with the view to making them taste like meat and  adding nutrients normally only found in animal proteins.

These include a pork infused soy product called “PiggySooy” and a pea spliced with bovine DNA in order to enrich it with beef iron.

In media statements the company has said it is specifically targeting vegetarians seeking iron-rich plant-based alternatives to beef, with the goal of boosting iron content.

The products have been approved by the USDA, along with a Safflower seed oil which has been edited to produce high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, one of the primary nutritional benefits of beef tallow.

A US business news website this week named Moolec one of the world’s most innovative agricultural companies for 2025.

“Not only do they have the potential to improve the nutritional benefits, color, and sensory experience of plant-based proteins, they can produce literal animal proteins that are cheaper, earth-friendlier, and more humane, and even boring old vegetable oils that are more nutrient-packed and functional,” an article explaining the listing read.

However Moolec is simulatenously facing hurdles elsewhere.

Last week  it was warned may be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market, because its shares did not meet the minimum bid price requirement of $1 over a 30-day period ending on September 10, 2024.

According to InvestingPro data, Moolec stock has declined 50 percent over the past year while demonstrating high price volatility.

The company, which has a market capiralizaion of US$33 million, is also reportedly not eligible for a second 180-day compliance period due to not meeting the minimum $5 million stockholders’ equity requirement.

At the time of writing Moolec had called an extraordinary shareholders meeting and initiated an appeal and intended to propose a reverse share split to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s Listing Rule.

InvestingPro also reported that its own analysis revealed “concerning financial metrics, including negative EBITDA of -$7.88 million and rapid cash burn, though the company maintains a current ratio of 1.51, indicating adequate short-term liquidity.”

Delisting would likely trigger forced selling from funds that can only hold Nasdaq-listed securities, “potentially creating additional downward pressure”, the site reported.

Last year Moolec Science SA announced it had made a major decision to relocate its central administration and registered office from Luxembourg to the Cayman Islands.