Arrturi Virtanen Facts
Arrturi Virtanen Facts
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| Interesting Arrturi Virtanen Facts: |
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| Virtanen was born in Helsinki, and promoted a very simple life void of overprocessing, especially where food was concerned. |
| Through his research for both his Master's and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry, Virtanen developed practical concepts for the dairy industry, which he continued when he went to work for Valio, a laboratory associated with dairy products. |
| He went on to receive further education in botany, zoology, microbiology, soil chemistry, and physical chemistry in order to increase his body of knowledge for his work in nutrition science. |
| After attending several professorships and research positions, Virtanen went to work in 1930 with the Institute for Biochemistry where was remained until his death some forty-three years later. |
| He remained a professor while still associated with the Institute, specifically at Helsinki University of Technology and the University of Helsinki. |
| Virtanen conducted important research into the understanding of the process of fermentation, notably by proving that phosphorylation of hexoses is the first step in the process. |
| He also studied and developed reproducible methods of halting fermentation by adding either hydrochloric or sulfuric acid to grain before storing it in order to prevent it from spoiling during the long space of time between growing seasons. |
| This important work led to better food storage and grain storage methods, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1945. |
| Virtanen worked later on various agricultural applications of chemistry, including synthetic cattle feeds that relied on urea and ammonium salts in place of plant fodder to synthesize amino acids. |
| His work made him realize how detrimental overprocessing of foods and plants could be, and he (unfortunately inaccurately) predicted that processed foods would be a short-lived fad. |
| Despite his devotion to clean living and natural foods, Virtanen died from complications due to a broken hip. |
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