Palm kernel oil is used in almost 40% of beauty and food products worldwide, but the $12 billion industry is estimated to account for millions of acres lost to deforestation and 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Sandia bioscientist Di Liu recently demonstrated novel metabolic routes to produce lipids containing mid-chain fatty acids as an alternative to palm kernel oil. Liu is part of the Agile BioFoundry, a consortium organized by the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office to accelerate biomanufacturing and decarbonize the economy. Working with C16 Biosciences, many of the modifications she documented have not been previously reported and, if proven to be a sustainable alternative, hold promise to help address the environmental damage and GHG emissions related to the production of palm kernel oil.