.svg)
Cultured or cultivated or lab-grown meats are terms used to describe meat that is produced in a laboratory using stem cell technology. Whilst it does sound futuristic, many pundits believe that cultured meats have the ability to revolutionize the meat industry.
How are cultured meats made?
The process of manufacturing the cultivated meats begins with taking stem cells from animals. These cells are then cultivated and grown in bioreactors, where they are fed an oxygen-rich cell culture made up of vitamins, amino acids, glucose and proteins, mimicking what happens inside an animal’s body. These cells then grow, multiplying exponentially, before being harvested by scientists. Once harvested the ‘unstructured’ cells can be shaped into the desired form of meat – be it a steak, chicken nugget or even sausage – the possibilities are endless!
Why cultured meat?
Cultured meat is therefore a viable alternative for those who wish to be more responsible but do not want to alter their diets. It is estimated that the livestock industry is responsible for a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing immensely to the effects of climate change. An Oxford University study concluded that the production of cultured meat could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 96% and use 98% less land than traditional livestock. Furthermore, livestock farming is an extremely resource-intensive exercise that is already overburdening the world’s arable land, water and energy. By 2050, there will need to be a 70% increase in food production to satisfy this increased demand for food caused by hikes in the global population and per capita wealth stretching the planet and its resources beyond their limits. In contrast, cultured meats will significantly curb land and water use, with some start-ups, such as Memphis Meats estimating that their production of cultured meats will use 77% less water and 62% less land than traditional meats.
There are also important public health benefits. Farm-raised animals are exposed to various viruses and infections such as salmonella or listeria that can be transmitted to humans. The controlled environment of a laboratory virtually guarantees the absence of bacterial infections contaminating the meats. Additionally, cultured meats are also antibiotic free. Antibiotics have increasingly been used to treat infectious diseases in food-producing animals and for growth promotion and enhancing feed-efficiency in animals which are intensively reared such as chickens, pigs and cattle. Used in these situations for food-producing animals, antibiotics have been seen to be a contributing factor to the emergence of antibiotic-resistance amongst humans.
Of course, a major selling point is that no animals are slaughtered in the lab-based production of the cultured meats, making it cleaner, and cruelty-free.
Eat-Just Inc - Revolutionizing the meat industry?
Start-ups around the globe are gearing up towards looking for a sustainable solution to global food supply. One of the start-ups at the forefront of the cultivated meat industry is Eat Just Inc. Having started off making eggs from plants, CEO Josh Tetrick and his team of biochemists and food experts have recently added chicken to their repertoire. Specifically designed to look, taste and feel the same as ‘conventional’ chicken, a survey conducted at his Singapore restaurant highlighted that 75% of diners thought that the cultivated chicken tasted “as good or better” than chicken. Further, 88% of those people did agree that cultivated meat will become a staple of the human diet in the future. This preliminary study in a restaurant therefore highlights that consumers are already taking kindly to these products.
What does the future hold for the industry?
Research by Barclays Investment Bank has shown that the demand for cultured and plant-based meats has increased over the last few years. Their analysis also suggests that the industry could be worth $140 billion by 2029. However, the path forward is not without obstacles. The largest issue currently facing the market is the cost of producing the meats. Whilst there are many start-ups in the industry, the vast majority have been unable to make a standard meal-size meat for less than $100 USD. Indeed, it will be difficult for these start-ups to make any inroads into the $1.4 trillion meat industry if they cannot compete with supermarket prices. The University of California Berkeley's alternative meat lab also highlighted the challenges in scaling the business, stressing that the mass production of cultured meats exponentially increased the likelihood of necrotic cells and viral infections damaging the meat.
