I came across a mention of this company in a book I am reading (Mycophilia by Eugenia Bone) and checked out their website.

http://www.ecovativedesign.com/

Pretty cool concept - growing a replacement for styrofoam and other packaging, insulation, etc... by inoculating a waste product as substrate for mycelium to colonize, then baking it.

Curious to see how it evolves and if it gains any widespread market acceptance.

I saw this video about that a while ago. http://www.ted.com/talks/eben_bayer_are_mushrooms_the_new_plastic.html

Looks like a really nice idea, I hope it is successful. I've Stanly noticed a big increase in biodegradable packaging, its only the big expensive things that seem to come in polystyrene now. So there does seem to be a market for something like this.

Ecovative just won first prize in the 2013 Buckminster Fuller Institute's contest for best earth-saving ideas.... just thrilling! Check out the TED talk by the designer ;)

et al :Truly the story is a little bit bigger than just swapping away from plastic packaging, the Ecovacative design can be easily recycled on site, as material for mulch/ humus,
it was almost there when the process was stopped by heat drying ! and yes the site and the T.E.D. talk is worth your time to look at ! Big AL!

Maybe not the most functional usage of mycelium but this is darn cool! Living Mycelium Chair

Madison McClintock wrote:Maybe not the most functional usage of mycelium but this is darn cool! Living Mycelium Chair

A chair? Where's the functionality in that? Now a set of kitchen cabinets where the mushrooms pop out of the doors, now that would be functional!