Fungi use enzymes to break down renewable plant-based raw materials into their individual constituents. This means that many different species can feed on dead, organic biomass such as dead trees. As masters of decomposition, they extract nutrients from the dead wood that is used at the start of the food chain. And mushrooms also accelerate an upcycling process: thanks to synthesis, they combine individual components of the biomass and produce new, different biomaterials. And the whole process is also very environmentally friendly: to manufacture a kilogram of cotton, you need 10,000 litres of water, but to produce the same amount of textiles from mushrooms only requires 100 litres. Composite materials for home construction that are biotechnologically sourced from mushrooms produce considerably less CO2 than conventional building materials such as concrete. And the best thing? Once they are no longer needed, the walls or tiles made from mushroom-based materials can simply be thrown on the compost heap. If Vera Meyer is to be believed, we will all soon live in houses made from fungal substances: ‘Not tomorrow or the day after that, but maybe in ten years’ time’. At the moment, however, there are no suitable production facilities to process the required quantities.