15 June 2013 | NewScientist | 29

the multifaceted boycott of apartheid South Africa. It is a method used by the many against the powerful few. If governments in the UK and other European countries and especially the US would take steps to exert pressure on the Israeli government over its outrageous treatment of the Palestinians, there would be no need for boycott.

An international BBC poll of 26,000 people across the world on how they view 16 different countries was published last month. Only North Korea, Pakistan and Iran are viewed less positively than Israel. Boycott is a tactic which populations can use when governments refuse to act.

Academic boycott is only one part of a worldwide campaign including divestment and sanctions asked for by Palestinian civil society. It stretches from consumer goods such as fruit and vegetables and cosmetics to touring Israeli cultural troupes supported by their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is a burgeoning sports boycott, which most recently campaigned against the decision of European football’s governing body UEFA to stage its Under 21 tournament in Israel. UEFA’s annual congress, in London last month, was the scene of vociferous protests.

In the case of South Africa, it was the sports boycott which captured the world’s attention. But Israel’s distinctively different culture makes academic boycott particularly effective, and the Israeli government has shown itself highly sensitive to it. Proof, if needed, was that demonstrators outside UEFA were clearly making the connection with Hawking. Their words say it all: “We urge UEFA to follow the brave example of world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking.” n

Jonathan Rosenhead is emeritus professor of operational research at the London School of Economics and chairs the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine

Comment on these stories at newscientist.com/opinion

How did you come to make packaging materials from mushrooms? I grew up on a farm in Vermont and noticed the mycelium – essentially the “roots” – of mushrooms clumping wood chips together. Years later, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I was working to develop a better insulation material. I remembered mushrooms’ bonding ability and began to think about industrial applications. After making a few samples, I teamed up with Gavin McIntyre and our professor Burt Swersey to figure out how this could work as a product.

Can your products be made cheaply enough to compete with styrofoam? Yes. In general, we are cost competitive with synthetic packaging materials such as expanded polystyrene and polyethylene. Plastics start with expensive, finite feedstocks derived from oil or natural gas. We’re starting with waste from farms.

What advantages do these biomaterials have over conventional materials? For over a century, humans have been using petrochemicals to make plastics. Eventually we will run out, and if we aren’t careful toxic waste will choke our oceans and landfills. Biomaterials like ours are sustainable, non-polluting and need little outside energy to make. They also dissolve back into the earth at the end of their useful lives.

Can you create durable materials from fungi? The strength of our products comes from the mycelium, which consists of millions of tiny fibres. The fibres bond with chitin – a natural plastic produced by mushrooms, similar to what crab shells are made of. Together, these act like a glue fusing agricultural waste such as seed husks into solid forms. Our materials basically self-assemble; the organism is doing most of the work.

You have also developed building materials. Have any been used in construction yet?The first experimental use is happening in our warehouse – we’re growing a miniature house from mushrooms! Eventually, we expect our

One minute with…

Eben Bayer

products to replace materials such as the plastic foams used in insulation and acoustic tiles.

You are able to bind your materials to wood without chemical glues. How does that work?The mycelium naturally bonds to wood, so we can use it to bind thin veneers and other materials without formaldehyde-based glues. We’re also hoping to use the mycelium as an adhesive in composites like fibreboard and particle board.

Have your products attracted much interest? We’re now working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to produce materials for buoys. We also supply packaging to a number of Fortune 500 companies, and this summer we’re collaborating with the company Sealed Air to build a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

What is the biggest challenge to more widespread use of your technology? Our key challenge at the moment is a wonderful one: scaling up to meet the growing demand. Interview by Richard Schiffman

Mushrooms are the new styrofoam, says the entrepreneur who is growing everything from packaging material to ocean buoys

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ProfileEben Bayer is the co-founder of Ecovative, a company based in Green Island, New York, that produces packaging materials from agricultural waste and the mycelium of mushrooms

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