Eat Just’s Good Meat has broken ground on the largest cultivated meat factory in Asia.
Building on its success in Singapore after becoming the first company to earn regulatory approval for cultivated meat in the city-state, Eat Just’s Good Meat is moving forward with its bioreactor facility in JTC Bedok Food City.
The target launch date is set for early 2023, and according to Eat Just will be able to produce tens of thousands of pounds of meat.
Cell-based meat in Singapore
The increased production capacity is due to what Eat Just says is ” the single-largest bioreactor in the cultivated meat industry to date.” Cultivated meat is grown in labs via media fed to cells, replacing the need to raise and slaughter animals.
Singapore is still the only place in the world that has approved the sale of cultivated meat. Eat Just has worked with several distributors across the region to sell its cell-based chicken since it received approval in 2020.
“Less than two years ago, Singapore made history, and since that moment, consumers have enjoyed the world’s first and only commercially available slaughter-free meat at high-end restaurants, hawker stalls and in their own homes,” Eat Just co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick said in a statement. “We view Singapore as vital in our plans to build this new approach to making meat. We’ll launch new products here, distribute to other countries in Asia from here and learn from consumers here who have proven themselves to be at the cutting edge of what’s next.”
GOOD Meat cultivated chicken. Photo by Eat Just.
Mr. Chan Hian Lim, Deputy CEO (Corporate, Industry and Technology) of the Singapore Food Agency, Singapore’s regulatory authority entrusted with ensuring a safe food supply, said that as consumer trends and technology evolve, alternative proteins such as plant-based, microbial and cultured meat “could contribute meaningfully to the ‘30 by 30’ goal. SFA will continue to work closely with the industry and research entitles to grow its capacity to produce a wide variety of food, including our protein needs, locally,” he said.
“We are excited to welcome GOOD Meat to JTC Bedok Food City, where there’s a growing ecosystem of food companies pursuing sustainable food innovation and manufacturing. As an industrial developer, JTC sees the importance of curating industry ecosystems in our estates to accelerate business growth. We are seeing a growing number of companies exploring innovative food solutions and believe that GOOD Meat’s presence will help catalyze new partnerships and synergies in alternative protein and other emerging innovative areas,” said Alvin Tan, Assistant CEO of JTC’s Industry Cluster Group, the government agency charged with championing sustainable industrial development in Singapore.
The facility will also house scientists and researchers, and help to boost Singapore’s efforts to develop urban food solutions, said Mr. Damian Chan, Executive Vice President, Singapore Economic Development Board.
“This facility will also provide many good job opportunities for Singaporeans to be at the cutting edge of novel food technologies. We look forward to working closely with such like-minded companies to develop Singapore into a hub where innovative agri-food solutions can be developed to feed the world,” he added.
Eat Just expansion
The groundbreaking ceremony comes after Eat Just announced a partnership with ABEC, Inc. on developing the largest bioreactors known for producing avian and mammal cell cultures.
Tetrick calls the Singapore facility a major step for the cultivated meat industry, which now includes about 200 companies around the world. Regulatory approval in the U.S. is expected by 2024, if not sooner.
The world is in the grips of a food-tech revolution. One of the most compelling new developments is cultured meat, also known as clean, cell-based or slaughter-free meat. It’s grown from stem cells taken from a live animal without the need for slaughter.
Proponents hail cultured meat as the long-awaited solution to the factory farming problem. If commercialized successfully, it could solve many of the environmental, animal welfare and public health issues of animal agriculture while giving consumers exactly what they’re used to eating.
As a moral psychologist, my research explores people’s perceptions of cultured meat, both the good and the bad. Below I discuss some of the top reasons people say they don’t want to eat cultured meat, compiled from opinion surveys, focus groups and online comments. But I’m optimistic that champions of this new technology can alleviate the public’s concerns, making a convincing case for consumers to embrace cultured meat.
‘Cultured meat is not necessary’
While there is increasing awareness of the downsides of factory farming, this knowledge has still not spread to all meat consumers, or at least is not reflected in their purchasing behavior. Factory farming supports what many consider cruel and restrictive practices where animals raised in such farms are subjected to extreme suffering, and estimates suggest that over 99 percent of U.S. farmed animals live on factory farms.
Animal agriculture is also inefficient. Growing and feeding an entire animal for only part of its body is inevitably less efficient than growing just the parts that you want to eat.
Some people who believe farmed meat is problematic would prefer a plant-based food system. Despite recent hype around veganism, the number of people who don’t eat animal products remains extremely low. Only 2 to 6 percent of Americans identify as vegetarian or vegan. And only around 1 percent of adults identify as vegetarian and report never eating meat. This figure shows little change since the mid-1990s, despite the ongoing activism of the animal rights and environmental movements.
I’d argue that the plant-based solution to factory farming is not a feasible outcome for the foreseeable future. Cultured meat might be. Individuals can still choose to eat a plant-based diet. But for those who are unwilling to give up meat, they can have their steak and eat it too.
‘I’m worried about the animals and farmers’
Some people express concern about the fate of chickens and cows, imagining them abandoned to die or released into the wild.
The time frame for cultured meat renders this consideration moot. Even by optimistic estimates, large-scale production is likely stillseveral years away. As new processes are adopted, the demand for farm animals will slowly decrease. Fewer animals will be bred, thus the animals at the center of these concerns will never exist.
Many people are also concerned about the negative impact a transition to cultured meat may have on farmers. But this new technology is far from the only threat farmers already face as the industry becomes ever more centralized. Eighty-five percent of beef in the U.S. comes from just four main producers.
Cultivated chicken. Photo by Mogale Meat.
In fact, cultured meat provides a new industry, with opportunities to grow and process products for use in cellular agriculture. The meat industry can learn a lesson from how taxis lost out to Uber and Lyft; they must adapt to new technologies to survive and thrive. And the industry is already taking steps in this direction – Tyson Foods and Cargill Meat Solutions, two of the biggest meat producers in the U.S., have made investments in this new future.
‘Cultured meat is disgusting’
Disgust is a common reaction to cultured meat. It’s difficult to rebut, as it is not an argument per se – disgust is in the eye of the beholder.
So what is disgusting appears to be somewhat determined by what is normal and accepted in your community. With time, and exposure to cultured meat, it’s possible that these feelings of disgust will disappear.
‘Cultured meat is unnatural’
Perhaps the loudest opposition to cultured meat is that it’s unnatural. This argument relies on the premise that natural things are better than unnatural things.
While this outlook is reflected in recent consumer preferences, the argument is fallacious. Some natural things are good. However, there are many things that are unnatural that are fundamental to our society: glasses, motorized transport, the internet. Why single out cultured meat?
Cultivated beef meatballs. Photo by SpaceF.
Perhaps the argument is only applicable to food – natural food is better. But “natural” food is a myth; almost all the food you buy is modified in some way. Moreover, I’d argue the overuse of antibiotics in conventional meat and other practices of modern animal agriculture – including the selective breeding used to produce modern farmed animals – throws it into the same unnatural category.
Of course, naturalness can be a proxy for things that really do matter in food: safety, sustainability, animal welfare. But cultured meat fares far better than conventional meat on those metrics. If we dismiss cultured meat on the grounds of being unnatural then, to be consistent, we must also dismiss a vast number of other products that make modern lives better and easier.
It’s early days, but a number of companies are working to bring cultured meat to the table. As consumers, we have both the right and obligation to be informed about which products we choose to eat. Yes, we should be cautious with any new technology. But in my opinion, the objections to cultured meat can’t hold a candle to the potential benefits for humans, animals and the planet.
Lab-grown, cultured, cell-based – all these terms refer to cultivated meat, whereby animal flesh or byproducts are produced without any animal killing. And no, we aren’t talking about plant-based alternatives such as Beyond Meat or Omnipork. We’re talking about actual animal flesh grown inside bioreactors using cellular agriculture and tissue engineering instead of traditional animal livestock farming methods. For some, this might feel like science fiction, but dozens of companies (including a fair few in Asia) are already working to bring this technology to market within a couple of years so it’s time to get educated about this new sector of food technology. Here’s a rundown of reasons why food scientists and environmentalists are bullish on cultivated meat and its potential to bring about a healthier, safer and more sustainable food system.
1. It’s slaughter-free
Growing meat from cells means that no animal needs to be slaughtered to end up on your plate as a meal. Every year, around 70 billion animals are reared for food, the majority of which are in industrial farms where they live in cramped, dirty and inhumane conditions. Every day, 5 million animals are exposed to cruelty and added risks in transit to new countries via land and sea journeys that can span weeks. Whether they are funnelled into the global live animal trade or slaughtered locally, animals reared for food have to face a violent end to their lives.
Cultivated meat does not require the slaughter of animals, it is instead grown in laboratories using cells taken from an animal, using a small biopsy done under anaesthesia, and does not subject the animal to cruelty or violence, though it does mean that it is not suitable for vegans as it is still an animal-derived product. And cells from a single cow can produce as many as 175 million quarter pounders – far more than the 440,000 cows needed using traditional farming methods to produce the same amount.
2. It’s hormone-free
Given that it is grown in a clean laboratory environment, cultivated meats are also free from any artificial growth hormones that are typically used in the conventional meat industry to make livestock grow and gain weight faster. Synthetic oestrogen and testosterone are the most common hormones used in livestock and in dairy cows, and while industry-funded studies show no risk, there are independent studies that suggest a link between injected hormones and cancer. Since they don’t require any hormones, lab-grown versions are therefore safer for human consumption and do not come at the added hormone-related risks.
3. It’s antibiotic-free
All cultivated meats are produced in a sterile environment, which means that they do not require antibiotics either. Slaughterhouses are the opposite – industrial animal farms pack livestock into cramped, dirty conditions that are hotbeds for contamination. Some cases have led to foodborne illnesses amongst consumers, more serious outbreaks of diseases have created mass chaos such as the recent African swine fever that wiped out pork supplies across Asia and multiple avian influenza outbreaks that have affected chickens and other birds in the past years.
As the demand for meat continues to grow globally, so has the use of antibiotics in the animal meat industry. The overuse of antibiotics to prevent animals from getting sick is so rampant in the industry that to date, over 80% of all produced antibiotics is sold to livestock farms, according to the FDA. Experts have long warned that this is leading to the rise of antibiotic resistant superbugs, with a 2019 study a tripling of the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria in livestock between 2000 and 2018.
Factory farms and slaughterhouses use antibiotics to prevent animals from getting sick in unsanitary conditions (Image Source: Dreamstime)
4. It supports local food production
Because cultivated meat facilities and bioreactors can be built virtually everywhere, it means that meat does not need to be transported from one continent to another. Grown indoors in controlled lab environments, it means that outdoor weather, temperature, land availability are all factors that are unimportant when it comes to this alternative source of protein, providing stable income to local communities and ensuring a resilient supply of protein, not to mention the big savings on transport emissions.
5. It bolsters food security
One major thing that the coronavirus pandemic exposed is the vulnerability of our global food supply chains. With lockdowns, travel bans and export restrictions to curb the spread of the virus came a massive supply shock of many staple foods, from wheat flour to fresh produce and of course, meat.
Food security is top of mind for many countries that are now exposed to the supply chain breakdown from coronavirus and are vulnerable to the climate crisis. Singapore, for instance, launched a SDG 30 million (US$21 million) fund dedicated to bolster local food production to provide a buffer in event of food supply shocks, with a great portion of the money going to support cultivated food techs that can produce local meat and seafood.
In addition to boosting self-sufficiency, locally grown meat will also slash carbon emissions from reducing transportation routes.
6. It requires far fewer carbon emissions (up to 96%)
On the topic of carbon emissions, cultivated protein also contributes a fraction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional meat. According to the United Nations FAO, animal agriculture alone generates 18% of global greenhouse gases – making it one of the leading causes of the climate crisis. It isn’t just the enormous resources that make raising livestock so carbon-hefty, but the methane emissions due to cows and their manure, which is anywhere from 20 to 30 times more potent and heat-trapping than carbon dioxide.
By contrast, cultivated meats can produce up to 96% fewer greenhouse gas emissions. While growing meat in labs will require significant amounts of energy, one study from the University of Oxford found that if facilities were powered by clean energy rather than fossil fuels, there are clear climate benefits to be reaped.
7. It requires a lot less land
Cultivated meat requires less land to produce. The world already uses the majority of arable farmland for livestock rearing – yet meat demand continues to rise due to rapid urbanisation and population growth. By 2050, we could be looking at a global population of 10 million, with demand for protein anywhere from 70% to 100% higher than today’s levels, according to the United Nations FAO.
Farmers are already being pushed to deliberately set forest fires, causing mass deforestation of rainforests, for more land to farm animals. Last year, large parts of the Amazon rainforest – one of the planet’s few remaining carbon-absorption tools against global heating – had been cleared to raise cows. In turn, this has led to mass loss of biodiversity, with estimates saying we could be losing 50,000 plant, animal and insect species every single year.
Performed in a closed system in indoor labs, it is projected that cultured meat production will use up to 99% less land than the current animal agriculture.
8. It’s feed-free
Another reason why animal agriculture uses vast amounts of land is feed cultivation. Cattle pasture is usually replaced by soy cultivation in order to grow enough feed for livestock. Recent deforestation in Brazil was fuelled by a cycle of soy-cattle-pasture-deforestation cycle that stimulated the need for further land clearing. It’s also happening in other neighbouring countries, including northern Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. With more and more rainforest being lost, the hope of keeping global heating at manageable levels is becoming less likely – unless we change the way meat is produced. When both livestock feed and grazing is accounted for, traditional meat production takes up almost half (45%) of the world’s total arable land.
Wildfires in the Amazon rainforest in 2019. (Image Source: AFP)
9. It saves a lot of water (compared to traditional ag)
Cultivated meat requires far less water to manufacture. Water scarcity is already a global issue, with the World Resources Institute (WRI) finding that a quarter of the world’s population across 17 countries are already suffering from extreme levels of high water stress due to the climate crisis and water contamination. Scientists doubled down on the warnings of water scarcity in 2020, with experts from the United Nations finding that poor water infrastructure is putting countries at a bigger health risk than the coronavirus pandemic.
In the UN report, the scientists said that water efficiency could be significantly improved if current agricultural farming methods changed. Using conventional animal farming, a single quarter pounder beef patty requires 5900 litres of water to produce – cultivated protein, by comparison, could reduce this by a whopping 96 percent.
To add to the issue of water usage, traditional animal livestock farming pollutes waterways too – runoff from pesticides and fertilisers can also flow into waterways, reaching oceans to harm marine ecosystems.
10. It’s cheaper
While cultured meat companies will still need to overcome a few technological and regulatory hurdles before large-scale production can be achieved, most industry experts do believe that it will reach price parity or even undercut the price of conventionally produced meats. Dutch food tech Mosa Meat, for instance, managed to produce a small scale burger back in 2013 for US$280,000, but believe that within the next two years, as the technology matures and production scales up, the cost of a lab-grown hamburger is projected to be as low as US$10. Upside Foods, another food tech company based in California, is hoping to lower the cost of a single lab-grown burger patty down to US$5 within the next couple of years, while Israel-based Future Meat Technologies believes that they can reduce the cost to an impressive $2.30 to $4.50 by the end of the decade. Once the price becomes accessible and achieves parity with industrially reared meat (whose costs are predicted to rise over the next few years), it’s all systems go the ultimate in cruelty-free animal protein.
San Francisco-based startup cultivated meat Orbillion has announced that it projects reaching price parity with conventional meat by 2026, with commodity pricing for beef to follow by 2030. The declaration comes as CE and co-founder Patricia Bubner is due to give a speech at the World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland. The focus of her presentation will be the democratisation of cultivated meat and increasing access to it.
Orbillion claims that it can work faster and cheaper than other cultivated companies. At its first pre-regulatory approval public tasting event, held last year, three types of meat were presented. Each took four months to develop, leading to estimations that Orbillion is moving 18x faster than most of its peers. This is largely attributed to members of the founding team meeting while already working within bioprocessing, thus having a working knowledge of the cultivated methodology.
Laying the foundations for a cultivated market entry
A Y Combinator alumnus, Orbillion is a female-founded biotech focussed on developing multiple heritage meat lines in parallel. To support its multi-variety approach, the startup secured $5 million in seed funding last year, before joining the Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation (AMPS Innovation). Together with fellow cultivated big hitters, including Blue Nalu and Upside Foods, the collective seeks to nurture consumer acceptance for future products. It also looks to work with stakeholders, to expedite the path to market.
“We are advocates of a wide range of solutions that can help make our food system more sustainable, nutritious, and reliable, and we see cell-cultured meat and alt proteins as an important “and” solution to regenerative agriculture. We all must work together,” Bubner said in a prepared statement. “Realizing the potential of cell-cultured meat means making it accessible. We know from extensive consumer and foodservice research around the globe, that price is key to making that happen. I’m so proud of the team that in less than one year, we’ve reduced the cost of production by 98%. Very eager for what’s ahead.”
Orbillion has what it refers to as ‘advanced bioprocessing’ capabilities, which allow muscle cells to be isolated, screened and selected faster than other platforms can manage- in other words, they save costs by being more efficient. Choosing the cells most suitable for scaled food production leaves little to no waste and lets the company move from prototype to product more quickly than most competitors.
It should be noted that price parity for Orbillion is significantly simpler to reach, as it focusses on high-end and heritage meats which are, traditionally, expensive. Parity with premium meats is the first target, before bringing costs down as production can be scaled further. To date, Orbillion has raised $9.5 million to support its endeavours.
Strengthening the leadership team
As Orbillion plans to launch products in 2023, it has sought to put key leadership figures in place. The most recent appointment is Greg Hiller, a globally recognised expert within the bioprocessing and cell cultivation fields. Hiller joins as an advisor.
“I saw how the founding team has leveraged their academic and engineering expertise to achieve commercial success in the past and I knew I needed to learn more. I had the opportunity to hear in-depth about Orbillion’s approach to bioprocessing, scale up and manufacturing and was very eager to be involved,” Hiller said in a statement. “There are so many interesting challenges and innovation opportunities here – I’m proud to be a part of the advisory board for this important effort.”
Orbillion has confirmed that its first commercial product will be cultivated Japanese-bred Wagyu beef. It cites its developments as a potential solution to the increased food insecurity being faced by global populations, in line with food price hikes.
Wading into the Wagyu race
Potentially the only startup to be looking at cultivated Wagyu beef, Orbillion is not alone in developing alternatives to the conventional Japanese heritage meat.
Last month, Hong Kong’s Alt Farm revealed its plans to seek launch 3D printed plant-based Wagyu in 2023. The startup, an offshoot of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has earmarked China and Australia as key markets for its growth. A combination of soy, pea and algae protein is currently being tested, with first prototypes anticipated to debut next year.
Canada’s Top Tier Foods has given the world a taste of vegan Wagyu steak, through its Wamamae Foods subsidiary. Last month, attendees of the TED2022 conference were served the beef alternative, ahead of commercial launch. Full rollout is anticipated for spring this year after a trial launch garnered positive responses from consumers.
Toronto-based Evolved Meats, formerly known as CaroMeats, has secured $2 million in a seed funding round. Investment was led by Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada’s largest protein companies. Big Idea Ventures, Garage Capital, and Saltagen Ventures also participated, alongside others.
Seed funding was raised to support Evolved as it transitions from prototyping to scaled production of cultivated meat. The Canadian biotech startup has created a non-specific platform for cultivating whole cuts of meat from a variety of animal species, without the need for expensive scaffolding.
Photo by Testalize Me at Unsplash.
Meeting protein demand in a sustainable way
The global demand for meat is expected to double by 2050. Existing food production systems will place this at direct odds with worldwide attempts to meet net-zero emission targets. This means that alternative ways of manufacturing protein need to be commercialised, hence the push from companies around the world to make cultivated meat a scalable and consumer-accepted accepted solution.
“Evolved Meats are working to solve important scale-up challenges to cell-based meats,” Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing general partner of Big Idea Ventures said in a statement. “By removing the need for scaffolding, Evolved Meats technology breaks down not one but several barriers in the cultivated meat production process and makes non-processed meat cuts possible. We are excited to invest and support the company, and as an active board member I look forward to working with the Evolved Meats team.”
Canada consumes more white meat than red, with the average per capita being 75.93 pounds. Chicken is the most popular choice. Beef and pork consumption have both decreased steadily to 39.75 and 31.57 pounds per capita respectively. Meat processing is the largest sector of the domestic food manufacturing industry, employing around 28 percent of all food sector workers.
Canada has pledged to be net-zero by 2050, but meat production accounts for an estimated 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reconciling the two is something that Evolved has set out to accomplish.
Photo by Emerson Vieira ay Unsplash.
Biofabricating functional tissue
Evolved claims that it has created a proprietary production platform that creates structural and biochemical replicas of conventional meat using only stem cells. Alongside, it has developed a unique tissue system that allows the startup to lower its costs.
“Our ambition is to recreate meat in a way that is identical to nature by biofabricating functional muscle tissues and capturing the entire muscle to meat transition,” Alireza Shahin, CEO of Evolved Meats said in a statement. “The proprietary technologies underlying our modular system allow us to do exactly that. However, recreating whole cuts of meat is only part of the challenge. Our unique ability to create functional tissues will help us scale out our production while driving towards price parity with conventional meat. This mix of familiar cuts and affordable prices will enable Evolved to lead a massive transformation of the food system, and we are excited to work with Maple Leaf Foods and Big Idea Ventures to usher in that change.”
Shahin is in the process of patenting his innovations. Discovered whilst completing his PhD, key developments include the manufacturing of functional tissue formats that can be physically arranged to mimic the meat from any animal. Shahin claims this will allow Evolved to perfectly replicate the structure, mouthfeel and taste of conventional meat joints. Nutritional equivalency is anticipated by the startup as well.
“Maple Leaf Foods’ vision is to be the most sustainable protein company on earth. We are committed to supporting promising new technologies with the potential to nourish people and protect the planet,” Michael McCain, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Foods said in a statement. “We are excited to invest in Evolved, as they pursue their vision to produce cultivated meat production using their unique technology.”
Lightlife chicken tenders. Photo by 7-Eleven.
Canada’s alternative protein landscape
Cultivated startups are limited within Canada. Alongside Evolved sits Future Fields, a Y Combinator-backed interest looking to develop low-cost fetal bovine serum-free growth media for its cell-based poultry. It secured $2.2 million in a seed round closed last March. Appleton Meats and Seafuture Sustainable Biotech are both reportedly working on cultivated meat with the former focussed on beef and the latter on seafood.
Where Canada does excel is within the plant-based arena. Alongside numerous fast-food partnerships for Lightlife vegan chicken, domestic startups are looking to replace everything animal-based from eggs to bacon and even wagyu beef.
Czech foodtech startup Mewery is developing cultivated pork on microalgae scaffolding. The company claims it is the first in Europe to be doing so. Using the regenerative plant base allows for significant production cost savings, reportedly of 70 percent. Mewery is eyeing 2026 for market entry, pending E.U. regulatory approval for cell-based meat.
The startup has recently received backing from Big Ideas Ventures in an undisclosed private investment round as part of the latter’s accelerator. A subsequent open funding raise is in the planning stage to bring fresh investors on board later this year. Mewery is not rushing to market, as despite other cultivated companies claiming to be ready to sell, the Czech startup has stated that more needs to be done to improve end products.
Image by Mewery.
Meat produced in a different way
“We love meat but hate the way it’s done,” Mewery states. “That’s why we’ve decided to change that. We are a team bringing together business and science experience with one common goal – to cultivate meat without killing a single animal or harming the planet.”
Focussing on pork, Mewery stands to make a big impact on animal agriculture. It is the second most eaten meat in the world, with significant regions, including Asia and Europe, making it their first preference. The environmental impact of keeping up with worldwide demand is taking its toll, however, as are supply chain interruptions within the pig farming sector.
The global pork market is estimated to reach $258 billion by 2027. Asia remains the biggest driver, claiming more than 50 percent of total pork produced. 2022 is expected to see China produce more than 50 million metric tonnes of pig meat, compared to 47.5 million tonnes in 2021.
It is estimated that for every kilo of pork meat that is ready to eat, 6.1 kilos of carbon dioxide equivalent is released into the atmosphere. The footprint of the pork sector is causing concern, alongside other red and processed meats, particularly beef. Cultivated meat manufacturers are looking to offer conventional meat-eaters an alternative to simply switching to plant-based foods.
Image by Mewery.
Taking pigs out of the equation
Mewery has deliberately avoided beef and poultry for its initial developments. The startup states that this is due to three considerations: there is scope to be a leader within porcine cells, the scale of the pork sector globally and competitive edge. Roman Lauš, founder and CEO of Mewery claims that most other cultivated companies are looking to produce beef or chicken, leaving a gap for a pork pioneer.
In an interview with Radio Prague, Lauš indicated that he is catering for meat fans, not vegans or vegetarians. He notes that within the Czech Republic there are existing plant-based meat alternatives, which fail to deliver on taste and texture, but that he is looking to develop real, clean pork. He states that his meat will allow people to make a significant impact on the environment, without having to change their diet. He accepts that education will be vital to consumer uptake, as well as price parity to conventional meat. Mewery is targeting the latter by avoiding the use of fetal bovine serum.
“One really needs to understand that the process of cultivating meat in the lab is just another process by which cells grow. It’s not Frankenstein-meat, it’s not something completely strange – these methods have been used in pharma for many years. The way we get meat now through industrial farming to our table is not sustainable – it cannot survive. So this is one of the options – not the only one, but one – for how to make our world more sustainable and to also get protein to an ever-growing population.”
CellX pork prototype. Photo by CellX.
The cultivated pork innovators
So far, most of the cultivated pork movement has been coming from Asia. In light of food security concerns arising from the African swine fever outbreak in 2019, Asia is looking to control its pork supply more carefully. When the outbreak was at its peak, China’s domestic pig numbers were decimated, leading to increased imports. As a consequence, an openness to domestic cultivated meat developments has been observed in Chinese officials, notably President Xi.
Shanghai-based CellX first debuted cultivated pork in 2021, alongside closing a $4.3 million funding round. Skip ahead to earlier this month and the startup has secured another $10.6 million in a Series A raise. Now the best-funded cultivated meat company in the country, CellX is pressing ahead with scaling for anticipated commercial pork production.
In South Korea, Space F is making progress with its own pork development, having recently unveiled version two. It came as the startup unveiled its new beef and chicken prototypes. Like Mewery, Space F has concentrated on creating serum-free meat, to maintain ethical advances over conventional meat production.
Californian-food tech Eat Just has announced that its GOOD Meat cultivated chicken brand is now partnering with food processing giant ADM to help accelerate commercial rollout of GOOD Meat products. The collaboration marks the first cultivated meat partnership for ADM, which recently pledged to invest $300 million towards better protein production.
Photo by ADM.
How two food pioneers will work together
ADM’s side of the agreement will see it developing GOOD Meat’s cell growth capabilities, by optimising nutrients used during the production process. Animals ingest certain amino acids and other nutrients from their food, causing them to grow and develop muscle fibre. GOOD Meat’s harvested animal cells also need feeding the right ingredients. ADM will be providing the perfect combination of nutrients, as it has previously for the conventional meat industry, by manufacturing animal feed.
“ADM has been making and innovating in food over 120 years. We are proud to partner with their incredibly talented team of scientists and engineers to take cultivated meat from a few restaurants today to millions of consumers tomorrow,” Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just said in a press statement.
Simultaneously to nutrition expertise, ADM will be offering insight during product development stages. It will look to improve flavour and texture, alongside other considerations, of GOOD Meat’s cultivated items. Feedback will begin with chicken but extend to future projects.
“ADM has long been a pioneer in the alternative protein industry, and our strategic focus right now is on developing innovative new technology and solutions to continue expanding our capabilities to serve the fast-growing global demand for protein-based nutritional needs,” Leticia Gonçalves, ADM’s president of global foods said in a statement. “Cultivated meat solutions have an exciting role to play in this space, and we are eager to work together with GOOD Meat to bring great-tasting, innovative cultivated meat products to the Singapore market and beyond.”
Photo by Eat Just/GOOD Meat.
GOOD Meat’s industry-leading developments
The Eat Just brand has secured its place in history, becoming the first cultivated meat manufacturer to sell its products commercially, anywhere in the world. With two chicken items now approved in Singapore, the company is seeking to continue its momentum. One way it is hoping to guarantee continued growth is through the construction of a new mega production facility, in the Pioneer area of Hong Kong City. A cultivated meat facility in Qatar was also confirmed, last year.
Despite regulatory approval not yet being granted for the sale of cultivated meat in the U.S., Eat Just continues to build out its infrastructure stateside in preparation.
ADM’s positive forecast for the alternative protein sector
ADM recently unveiled its 2022 Alternative Protein Outlook report. It identified seven emerging trends, as well as relevant drivers, such as consumers choosing health-conscious food sources and concerns surrounding sustainable food production. Of the trends cited, a price reduction in cultivated meats now appears more relevant than ever. Production costs being slashed are expected to have a direct impact on consumer acceptance of cultivated products, via increased accessibility. ADM also notes in its report that FDA and USDA acceptance of cell-based meat is anticipated for mid-2022.
Last month ADM revealed its expansion and new alt-protein facility plans, which will form part of its $300 million reinvestment into its own operation.
Photo by CellX.
Cultivated partnerships accelerating progress
China’s CellX recently announced it will be working with Germany’s Bluu seafood to speed up cultivated meat production. The two will be combining their respective meat and seafood knowledge to accelerate regulatory approval within their home countries while sharing technical knowledge. The two have chosen cooperation over competition to promote the importance of cultivated products in the fight for global food security.
Shanghai-based cellular agriculture startup CellX has secured a $10.6 million Series A funding round with funding earmarked for recruitment efforts and optimizing the company’s platform technologies to achieve scale while decreasing unit costs. New backers included Joyvio Capital and SALT, amongst others, with previous investors Lever VC, Better Bite Ventures and Agronomics all joining again. The round Total investment to date now exceeds $15 million, making it the most well funded cultivated meat company in the country.
CellX, which was founded in 2020 by Ran Liu and Ziliang Yang, is focused on creating pork, beef, and chicken using cellular agriculture. The round notably attracted participation from Joyvio Capital, which is backed by large conglomerate Joyvio Group of Legend Holdings in China and SK Group in South Korea.
CellX pork prototype. Photo by CellX.
“Eat meat, not animals”
CellX’s slogan comes from co-founder and CEO Ziliang Yang’s personal philosophy. He has observed a flexitarian eating regimen for many years and says he now wants to make it easier for fellow consumers to follow suit, without compromising on what they enjoy.
“Cellular agriculture uses next-generation technologies to create new proteins and new materials in a more sustainable way. Compared to traditional animal agriculture, cellular agriculture uses significantly fewer resources and emits less carbon,” Yang said in a statement. “Cultivated meat has by far the largest market with the most carbon reduction promises within cellular agriculture, and it is also CellX’s current focus. We started with domestic pig breeds and have quickly expanded to beef and poultry.”
Environmental benefits of cultivated meat
Data suggest cultivated meat—if produced using renewable energy sources—will see massive reductions in emissions compared to conventional meat also produced using renewable energy. In terms of global warming impacts, beef’s footprint could be slashed by up to 92 percent, with a 95 percent land use savings.
When it comes to pork production, cultivated alternatives help decrease emissions by up to 50 percent, with a 72 percent reduction in land demand. It should be noted that the conventional meat emissions figures used to generate this comparison are considered “highly ambitious” and lower than those currently reported.
CellX cultivated meat.
Pressing ahead for progress and price parity
CellX is looking to develop multiple meat varieties. To ensure fast progress it is leveraging four technologies simultaneously: cell lines, media, bioprocess, and end product.
“A stable cell line and a low-cost culture media are critical pre-requisites to large scale production at low cost”, Dr. Binlu Huang, CellX’s co-founder and scientific lead said in a statement.
CellX says that it has made significant progress in its cell line research and media development – and managed to secure an immortalized cell line as well as a low-cost media formula.
Instead of working on mincemeat, CellX says it is mastering the taste and texture of conventional whole-cuts and believes this will be key when it comes to consumer acceptance of cultivated products.
Driving industry acceptance from another angle, CellX has been a consistent presence in relative industry groups. The company attended the first Cellular Agriculture Forum in April of this year and is contributing to the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture.
Source: CellX
Government support for China’s cultivated scene
Earlier this year, China’s government voiced its support for the growing cultivated sector with improved access to funding for scaling and product development identified as key by nonprofit think tank the Good Food Institute APAC. It bodes well that previous recipients of similar support include solar technology developers and electric vehicle manufacturers, both of which are now huge industries. More could still be allocated, but this is widely expected to come as consumer acceptance grows.
3Mins Read South Korean cultivated meat startup Space F, along with four partners, has won a grant of $15 million to continue researching cultivated meat. As part of the Alychymist Project, an R&D initiative supported by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the grant will be paid over the next five years. The focus of […]
4Mins Read A study conducted by the University of Helsinki suggests that diets that include cultivated meat and dairy could offer water, land and carbon emissions savings of more than 80% when compared to conventional European diets. The study further claims that the inclusion of novel foods would offer a more complete nutrient package than vegetarian and […]
5Mins Read Shanghai-based CellX has announced that the China Cellular Agriculture Forum has held its first event. Hosted on April 19 the panel was attended by approximately 30 companies within the cultivated sector. These represented meat producers, research teams, and infrastructure partners from both within and outside of China. The aims of the forum centred around the […]
4Mins Read California-based cultivated meat company Upside Foods has announced $400 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total funding to more than $600 million and its valuation to more than $1 billion—an industry first. The leading producer of cultivated meat has closed its Series C funding led by Temasek and Abu Dhabi Growth Fund […]
German food tech company Bluu Seafood, is showing off its first cell-based fish as it readies for regulatory approval processes across Europe, Asia, and North America.
Bluu is the first European-based cultivated fish producer to reveal market-ready products: fish sticks and fish balls. Both are made from a “one-time” fish biopsy that didn’t take the life of the animal. Cell lines were developed from the single extraction and cultivated in bioreactors.
This technology—what’s called “immortalized cells”—reduces the need for additional animal samples, proving an independent supply chain is possible without repeated cell samples needed.
“That is the amazing thing about ‘immortalized’ cells—while ‘normal’ cells double for, let’s say, 20 times and then stop, the immortalized cells keep on doubling—theoretically forever,” Bluu co-founder Simon Fabich told TechCrunch.
Photo by Bluu Seafood.
Blluu, which launched in 2020, is working on Atlantic Salmon, rainbow trout, and carp. For now, it’s also sidestepping the more complicated whole muscle meat products like Wildtype’s whole cut Pacific salmon fillets, for fish sticks and fish balls. “From a product perspective, the structure of fish meat is easier to achieve than the more complex mammalian meat structure — think salmon fillet versus steak,” Fabich explained.
“We are working in parallel on more complex products such as fish fillet and sashimi, of which prototypes already exist,” Fabich said. “But those are without a doubt harder to scale, and it will take more time to achieve price parity with the conventional product.”
Bluu Seafood and CellX
In April, Bluu announced a strategic partnership with China’s CellX to address food security concerns.
CellX is the leading cultivated meat enterprise in China. TheShanghai-based operation debuted a number of products in 2021, most notably its cell-based pork.
CellX and Bluu are both proactive in moving the cultivated meat sector toward global regulatory approval. Chris Dammann, COO of Bluu Seafood, is a vice president and board member of Cellular Agriculture Europe. Representing for CellX is Ziliang Yang, founder and CEO, who has taken on the role of secretary of the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture.
CellX cultivated meat. Photo by CellX.
“China has the world’s largest consumption of seafood and is, therefore, a particularly important market for Bluu Seafood,” Fabich said in a statement in April. “Together with CellX, we are working to overcome the challenges in sourcing, scaling, and obtaining regulatory approval concerning cultivated fish and meat to bring affordable and tasty products to market.”
The strategic partnership includes collaborative support along the value chains of both brands including aw material sourcing, construction of regional production facilities, and potential sales partnerships. Together, the two aim to raise consumer acceptance levels for cultivated products and share supply partnerships.
“We are pleased to form this strategic partnership with Bluu Seafood as an industry leader in cultivated seafood and board member of Cellular Agriculture Europe,” Ziliang Tang, CEO at CellX said in a statement. “CellX and Bluu Seafood have a complementary focus regarding species and market geographies. This partnership will serve as a starting point for deeper collaboration between the two companies and will encourage more collaboration across the industry. We are solving a global issue, and this requires a global solution.”
Preparing to disrupt South Korea’s protein market, TissenBioFarm has closed a 2.2 billion KRW (approx. 1.6million USD) pre-Series A funding round.
TissenBioFarm, an offshoot of Thyssen Biopharmaceuticals, says the new funding was led by impact investing company, Envisioning Partners, with FuturePlay and Stonebridge Ventures participating. Mirae Holdings, an existing investment company, also made a follow-up investment. The new funding follows its $400,000 raise in the spring.
The funding will support expansion plans for its research facility and the building of a production system that goes beyond its laboratory setting. It will also work on developing animal cell proliferation and differentiation technologies ahead of consumer launches once regulatory approvals are in place.
Courtesy TissenBioFarm
TissenBioFarm says it effectively replicates the texture, marbling, and nutrition of conventional meat. This technique is highly scalable, the company says, with the ability to mass produce whole-cut cultured meat using animal cells and functional bio-ink.
“In the global cultured meat field, it is very challenging to create meat as thick as a steak through cell culture methodology,” Wonil Han, CEO of TissenBioFarm, said in a statement. “Furthermore, replicating the meat texture and marbling in cultured meat, and mass-producing them requires cutting-edge technologies. Our technologies will provide high-quality cultured meat that is competitive in taste, nutrition, sensory, and price in the near future.”
Tissen has created three bio-inks that it says are capable of being mass-produced for about $0.33 per 100 grams. The inks have applications in both cultivated and plant-based meat.
Tisson’s largest-ever cultivated meat sample.
“Thyssen Biopharmaceuticals [and Tissen] is showing innovation in mass production technology beyond the limitations of the existing cultured meat production method represented by cells, culture medium, and support,” Kim Jae-hyeon of recent investor Mirae Holdings, said in a statement earlier this year.
“We expect to grow into a future food company that will solve the problems of animal ethics in the slaughter process and imbalance between supply and demand in the meat market by promoting the popularization of cultured meat in the meat market.”
4Mins Read South African food tech startup Mogale Meat has unveiled the first cultivated chicken to come out of Africa. The company claims the innovation represents a new dawn for African food security, alongside biodiversity and wildlife conservation. It also comes as Africa’s population is expected to double in the next 30 years and the continent moves […]
4Mins Read BioBetter has revealed it is using tobacco plants to drive down costs associated with cultivated meat production. Citing scaled production as the remaining big obstacle for the industry, the startup has identified a way to harness tobacco plants. For the good of human and planetary health, BioBetter is using them to create growth factors essential […]
4Mins Read Germany’s PHW group, one of the largest poultry producers in Europe, has confirmed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israel-based SuperMeat. It formalises a joint goal of bringing cultivated poultry products to European consumers. Chicken, duck and turkey have been specifically cited for future manufacture. The two food producers will combine their […]
3Mins Read Bangkok’s Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) has announced its new partnership with Israel’s Future Meat. The partnership brings together one of the world’s largest agro-industrial food conglomerates and a leader in the cultivated meat scene. The two will co-create a line of hybrid cultivated meat aimed squarely at the Asian market. CPF will leverage its reach […]
3Mins Read Alife Foods has unveiled its first cultivated meat prototype, a schnitzel (breaded cutlet) made in collaboration with LabFarmFoods and the Fuchs Group. The product is currently undergoing taste trials and sensory evaluations. The company hopes to present a fully realised prototype to investors by year-end and become known as the ‘cultured schnitzel company’ after releasing […]
3Mins Read The Netherlands’ House of Representatives has just passed a motion to make cultivated meat samples legal. Dutch cell-based startups have heralded the move as significant progress towards regulatory approval. The D66 and VVD democratic political parties proposed the motion. Formal acceptance of cultivated technology in the Netherlands adds pressure on other countries to define their […]
3Mins Read Singaporeans are more accepting of cultivated meats than their U.S. counterparts. The finding comes from a study conducted by the Singapore Management University (SMU). Data points to a correlation between social image and acceptance of new technologies with Singaporeans seemingly motivated to eat certain foods for a positive social image. Links to ‘kiasu-ism’ were made, […]
4Mins Read Israeli foodtech SuperMeat, whose cultivated chicken a food expert called indistinguishable from the animal version, has announced a strategic partnership with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto. The two plan to work together to speed up and improve the development of cultivated meat products. This marks Ajinomoto’s first move into cellular agriculture, with the biotech investing in […]
3Mins Read Mzansi Meat, the African continent’s first cellular agriculture startup, has announced that it has successfully produced a cultivated beef burger after two years of research and development. The burger will make its debut was made at a bespoke event net month. “This is a huge milestone for South Africa and Africa,” co-founder and CFO Tasneem […]
4Mins Read One of Asia’s largest food and biotech companies, CJ CheilJedang, is entering the cultivated meat industry in partnership with KCell Biosciences, a startup focused on cell culture media. The companies will construct a cell culture media facility in Busan, South Korea, later this year. When completed, the location will offer the largest capacity for cell […]
3Mins Read California’s Upside Foods, which has pioneered cultivated meat in the U.S, has announced that it is inviting consumers to tour around its Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center (EPIC) in Emeryville as a way to educate the public about its products. Cellular agriculture alternatives to conventional meat remains shrouded in mystery for many and Upside hopes […]
3Mins Read Eat Just has announced a significant first. It will provide its cultivated GOOD Meat products to hawker stalls across Singapore, for consumers to buy alongside longstanding favourite dishes. Select hawkers will alternate approximately every two months for limited runs. The first Eat Just collaboration was with Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice. The stall has been in […]
3Mins Read Israel’s Aleph Farms has announced that it has relocated to new 6,000 square metre headquarters in Rehovot, which will allow the cultivated meat company to increase production by six-fold. Production of thin-cut beef steaks will be the initial focus. An onsite R&D centre is now being planned, to continue developing market-leading technology. International marketing and […]
A number of companies are further along in the development process for cultivated meat than ever before. These innovators are leading the charge to gain U.S. regulatory approvals.
Singapore is currently the only country to have granted regulatory approval for the commercial sale of cultivated meat products, with U.S.-based Eat Just receiving the go-ahead for two of its products. But optimism is high that the U.S. will follow Singapore’s lead soon, even our founder & editor-in-chief Sonalie Figueiras thinks so. According to Crunchbase, more than $2 billion in investment has poured into the cultivated meat sector over the past two years. The amount is expected to increase exponentially in 2022. So who’s leading the way? Below we roundup five cultivated meat companies that promise to are looking to conquer the U.S. market.
Based in Israel, Aleph Farms has enjoyed ongoing success. Debuting the world’s first cultivated ribeye steak early last year, it has gone on to secure additional funding with Leonardo DiCaprio included in the list of backers. While continuing to hone its cultivated products, the company has sought to develop critical strategic partnerships that, when regulatory approval is granted, will assist in scale-up and fast commercial launches.
In a bid to drive down the cost of cultivated meat production, Aleph Farms recently announced a new partnership with Munich-based Wacker. The two will be developing FBS-free growth mediums that will be shared with the entire industry, to create price parity with conventional meat. Open-source tech sharing of this kind is designed to progress the entire sector, not one company.
U.S.-based Upside Foods may have been the most disappointed company when regulatory approval was not granted by year-end 2021. Having predicted the breakthrough, it was ready to scale and serve its chicken nuggets and chicken hotdogs. In December last year, Upside revealed that it had successfully created an animal-component-free cell feed. The development represented a goal of the business since its 2015 inception.
Despite no confirmed green light for commercial sale, Upside opened its new ‘EPIC’ production facility. The location is capable of manufacturing 400,000 pounds of cultivated meat every year. Most recently, Upside has acquired cultivated seafood company Cultured Decadence. The move comes as seafood alternatives are showing significant market growth and are predicted to continue on an upward trajectory in 2022.
In a bid to manifest regulation progress, Wildtype has already signed U.S. distribution deals for its cultivated salmon. The San Francisco startup has agreements in place with sushi bar franchiser Snowfox and poké chain Pokéworks. The move follows completion of a pilot plant which brings production facilities, an education centre and tasting rooms all under one roof. The idea is to make the technology accessible and understandable, to encourage consumer trust and openness. When fully operational, the location will be able to produce 200,000 pounds of salmon a year.
Wildtype’s salmon will be sushi-grade and whole cut. Green Queen tried the prototype last September and it was hard to differentiate from the real thing.
MeaTech steak. Photo by MeaTech.
4. MeaTech 3D
Israeli foodtech MeaTech 3D is focussed on two aspects of cultivated meat. The first is chicken fat that can be leveraged in a B2B scale, to add flavour to other cultivated developments. In addition, honing of industrial processes and technology to manufacture recognisable meat cuts. Steak and chicken breasts have both been slated for future unveiling.
In early 2021. MeaTech secured $7 million in a funding round. $1.19 million was used to acquire Belgian startup Piece of Meat, to benefit from its stem cell technology. The rest was earmarked for the construction and fit-out of a pilot plant, also in Belgium, in 2022.
Back in 2020, MeaTech became the first cultivated meat company to go public in the U.S. It claimed a $25 million valuation for its IPO.
Making history as the first and only company to be allowed to sell cultivated meat products anywhere, Eat Just is the company to chase. December 2020 saw Eat Just bag regulatory approval for its GOOD meat chicken nuggets, in Singapore. Almost exactly one year later, GOOD Meat chicken breasts were also approved. In 2021 alone, Eat Just scooped $370 million in investments. It beat Upside Foods’ previous record.
Gearing up for U.S. distribution, Eat Just has appointed Chef José Andrés as a GOOD Meat board member. The chef has agreed to service cultivated chicken in at least one of his U.S. restaurants, as soon as regulatory approval is granted. The move guarantees high profile rollout, thanks to the Michelin-starred businessman.
3Mins Read Korea’s Seawith, developer of cultivated beef, has announced a ₩1 billion investment from Mint Venture Partners. It follows previous backing from Hg Initiative, Daesung Startup Investment and Daily Partners. Launched in 2019, Seawith has made fast progress. The company claims it will be in a position to make cultivated steak for $3 per kilogram, by […]
3Mins Read After pioneering cultivated pork in March 2021, South Korean cellular agriculture startup Space F has unveiled a host of new innovation including an upgraded version of its existing cultivated pork prototype, a brand new cultivated beef prototype, presented as meatballs and a patty and their first cultivated chicken fillets and nuggets. The newly improved cultivated […]
