Introduction to Cultivated Meat
Over the next 30 years, the world’s population is estimated to increase by 2 billion people. With increasing pressure on global infrastructure and food systems, the need for resilient solutions to feed the population whilst protecting our remaining biodiversity is growing stronger. In a world with a changing climate, reduced farmable landmass and increase prevalence of disease, this can appear a challenging prospect.
New technologies, such as indoor farming and cellular agricultureA field of biotechnology that uses biological engineering to produce agricultural products such as d, could play a critical role in addressing this challenge. This report will explore a type of cellular agricultureA field of biotechnology that uses biological engineering to produce agricultural products such as d, cultivated meat, where meat-like products are made using the lab-based culture of animal cells.
Cultivated meat borrows methods from decades of biological research, which allows scientists to recreate key elements of the host biology (temperature, oxygen and a range of nutrients, hormone and proteins are introduced) within sterile vessels. Most in-vitroLatin for "in glass"; refers to experiments or procedures done outside of a living organism, typical culture creates suspensions of single cells or two-dimensional sheets of cells. However, to achieve the ultimate goal of true meat-like products, the emerging field of tissue engineeringThis branch of science uses cell biology and biomedical engineering methods to develop ways to impro is required to provide three dimensionality, structure, and scale. This involves either growing cultured cells together or combining them after to give complex structures.
Figure 1. Diagram outlining the simplified steps to produce cultivated meat. Donor or reprogrammed stem cellsCells that can proliferate indefinitely and differentiate into many different cell types, ranging fr are engineered to become specific cell types (i.e. fat, muscle, or connective tissue), which can then be assembled into larger functional structures. Typically, this also requires incorporation of 3D scaffolds, to maintain the desired structure of the tissue.
Approaches
The late 2010s and early 2020s saw a huge proliferation in the cultured meat sector (including cultivated seafood). This spans companies working to produce final edible products for humans and animals, and those supporting the sector by providing ingredients and infrastructure required to produce lab-grown food (summarised in Figure 2).
Some of these companies produce individual components, such as muscle cells, fats, or scaffolds. Others assemble cultivated cells, often grown with 3D scaffolding, into a final edible tissue-like structure. To reduce costs, some companies manufacture cultivated meat that is blended with cheaper plant-based or other ingredients (hybrid products). Finally, a number of companies were established to produce the growth factors and other ingredients required to keep growing cells alive or to optimise conditions to maximise cell growth, productivity, and/or add functionality.
Figure 2. Examples of companies working within and supporting the cultivated meat sector.
Past Investment
In the past decade, the cultivated meat industry has made progress in tackling major challenges and bringing products closer to market. Between 2016 and 2022, $2.8 billion was invested into the sector, with funding peaking in 2021 at $1.3 billion. Macroeconomic volatility in 2022 and 2023 fuelled by the COVID pandemic, rising inflation, and the invasion of Ukraine, has contributed to global venture funding decline. However, $896 million was invested into cultivated meat/seafood in 2022 with significant upticks in funding in Asia-Pacific and Europe and an overall 19% increase in the number of investors (Good Food Institute). Key recent acquisitions include the purchase of BioTech Foods by the world’s largest meat processing company, JBS, and the acquisition of cultivated seafood company Cultured Decadence by Upside Foods. Taken together, these events reflect the market’s progress towards maturity and sets the scene for continued growth.
Figure 3. Infographic summarising key funding outcomes within the cultivated meat sector.
Technical Challenges
Scale-upScale-up refers to the process of taking a small-scale experiment or model and adapting it for large was the most common technical challenge encountered during our company evaluations. Issues cited included oxygen penetration, cell viabilityThe proportion of healthy cells in a sample relative to the total cell count. Cell viability is an i and survival, contaminationIn a laboratory setting, contamination refers to the presence of an undesired living organism or oth, and lack of fit-for-purpose bioreactorsBioreactors are vessels or devices in which biological reactions or processes are carried out. Biore (food grade vs pharma grade). All potential issues that particularly impact the growth and efficiency of cultures at scale, in ways that are not usually observed at lower densities. For example, the financial impact from contaminationIn a laboratory setting, contamination refers to the presence of an undesired living organism or oth intensifies and compounds with scale. The larger the batch, the more product value is lost and there is higher cost and complexity to clean the bioreactorsBioreactors are vessels or devices in which biological reactions or processes are carried out. Biore. Antibiotics are currently used to reduce contaminationIn a laboratory setting, contamination refers to the presence of an undesired living organism or oth at small scale but are too expensive and carry too many regulatory and safety issues to be used in full scale manufacturing.
Figure 4: Sector maturity of cultivated meat in 2023. Based on analysis of companies having undergone due diligence combined with Revena expert opinion.
The high cost of goods represents another major unsolved challenge for scaling production. For most companies, market success will require a reduction in input costs, especially media. Media (also known as culture mediaGrowth media, also known as culture media, provides cells in culture with all the correct nutrients. or growth mediaGrowth media, also known as culture media, provides cells in culture with all the correct nutrients.), provides cells with the nutrients required for healthy growth and division. An estimated 200-fold reduction in the cost of growth mediaGrowth media, also known as culture media, provides cells in culture with all the correct nutrients. will be required to reach cost parity with traditional agriculture or plant-based meat replacements. Technoeconomic models will also need to account for infrastructure costs and fluctuating external factors.
Another media challenge is the use of foetal bovine serum (FBS)FBS (also known as Foetal Calf Serum - FCS) is a common supplement used in culture media. It is deri which (as the name suggest) is a by-product derived from the blood of cow’s foetuses. Many of the cell lines used in cultured meat struggle to grow without FBSFBS (also known as Foetal Calf Serum - FCS) is a common supplement used in culture media. It is deri, but until alternatives are found, companies will not be able to claim their products are slaughter-free. In summary, if cell cultureCell culture refers to the growth of any type of cell (ie, plant, microbial, or animal) under contro can’t be scaled to achieve target production, companies may not be able to produce sufficient product to capitalise on market opportunity or fulfil larger commercial agreements.
Environmental Impact
Contrary to the mainstream public narrative, the environmental impact of cultivated meat is still relatively high. The majority of the carbon footprint comes from production of growth mediaGrowth media, also known as culture media, provides cells in culture with all the correct nutrients., energy to run facilities (including maintaining the temperature of bioreactorsBioreactors are vessels or devices in which biological reactions or processes are carried out. Biore) and single-use plastic required in laboratories. It is our expert’s opinion that “conventional farming has been streamlined for many years, and the volume of meat produced per square foot of land does not substantially differ to cultivated meat at this stage in the scaling process. Additionally, cultivated meat is produced in a way that serves only one purpose, whereas products of livestock can often be used across multiple industries and applications” (e.g. leather primarily comes from cattle raised for meat production).
Regulatory Landscape
Regulatory frameworks for cultivated meat are forming at varying rates across different jurisdictions and many countries have spent years gathering data and forming consortiums to inform decision making. In 2020, Singapore set the precedent as the first country to approve cultivated meat. Rapid regulatory advancements in this country are driven by its strong biotech presence and ambitious government-set environmental goals, such as the “30 by 30 goal” to produce 30% of its own food by 2030 and to use less than 1% of its land for farming by 2030. Israel is another leader in the regulation of cultivated meat, with the creation and funding of the cultivated meat consortium, though no products have been approved yet.
The leading regions in cultivated meat as a function of commercialisation, their regulatory bodies for novel food approval, and total meat market sizes are displayed in figure 5. The United States holds the largest number of cultivated meat companies and is one of two countries (alongside Singapore) in the world to have a product approved and sold. China represents the largest market for meat, suggesting it may become a large or even the largest cultivated meat market.
However, not all regions are so keen to fast-track regulation and adopt legislation supporting clean meat. Specifically, given the novelty of cultivated meats, stringent procedures are expected for approval requests in some areas, such as the European Union. For example, Italy approved a bill in July 2023 preventing the production and import of cultivated meat products into the country, though this is still being negotiated with the European Commission and EU member states. Despite heavy media attention shining a positive light on regulatory breakthroughs, many frameworks are not set up and won’t be for several years.
Figure 5: Summarised regulatory landscape for cultivated meat. Regions are coloured according to whether they have a regulatory/legislative framework established. Market size in each region is represented by total meat revenue in 2023 according to Statista.
Revena’s opinion
Huge technical advancements in biology such as gene editing, bioreactor design and cell line characterisation have been made in the decade since Google co-founder Sergey Brin funded the first widely published cultured meat burger. The large investment into the sector has led to a proliferation of new companies developing a variety of cultured meat products claiming to address the environmental, animal welfare, food security and human health impacts of meat production. However, the sector faces technological, regulatory, and market barriers before it can be widely implemented.
We predict that the industry will consolidate around companies that can overcome these hurdles, with a focus on overcoming the high cost of goods and improving texture and flavour to achieve commercial viability. The role of geography (regarding legislation, supply chain and talent) and existing capital expenditure is likely to play a role in which companies can bridge the jump from early-stage feasibility into large scale food producers.
Demand from early adopters will likely continue to outstrip supply until companies achieve the economies of scale required to approach cost parity with traditional meat. Thus, cultivated meat may well remain a low volume, high-cost product for another decade. To achieve economic viability, we are likely to see widespread pivots to simpler unstructured products, including offerings of cultivated meat blended with plants, or primarily plant-based products flavoured with cultivated ingredients, i.e., fat cells. Finally, consumer perception will also play a big role in market success, and marketing and consumer education will be critical in securing repeat customers.
Ultimately, outperforming the most efficient bioreactor created over millions of years of evolution (a live animal) is unlikely to be achievable at the current stage of technical maturity. However, if the current rate of progress continues, consumers will no doubt be supplementing their diets with cultivated meat in some form within the next 10 years.
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