November 2023 has seen significant advancements and investments in the cultivated meat sector. Among the most notable developments was the German Government’s commitment to invest €38 million in alternative proteins in its 2024 budget. This substantial funding emphasizes the government’s focus on transitioning from traditional animal husbandry to precision-fermented, plant-based, and cultivated meat and dairy alternatives. With €20 million specifically earmarked for this transition, it marks a clear strategy towards more sustainable and ethical food production. There was also a call for substantial investment in the cultivated meat sector, akin to a “trillion-dollar Biden moonshot”, highlighting the sector’s need for robust financial support to scale and compete with traditional meat production
Another intriguing development was the European Space Agency’s exploration of cultivated meat as a potential food source for space missions. Collaborating with the German company Yuri, ESA investigated the feasibility of growing meat in bioreactors using animal cells, which could be a game-changer for long-duration space missions.
From a policy perspective, the Protein Diversification Think Tank released a brief on accelerating protein diversification in Europe. This document, developed in consultation with experts, offers policy recommendations to drive a transformative shift in protein production and consumption.
In the United States, the cultivated meat industry saw significant advancements with OMEAT completing the construction of a 15,000-square-foot pilot plant near Los Angeles. This facility, capable of producing up to 400 tons of product annually, represents a major step in scaling up cultivated meat production. Similarly, Meatable opened a new pilot facility in Leiden, Netherlands, to further its development of cultivated pork products, following a successful $35 million Series B funding round.
Triplebar raised $20 million to expand its bioproduct design engine, indicating strong investor interest and confidence in the sector’s growth potential. Nongshim, known for its Shin Ramyun noodle brand, invested $7.4 million in food technology with a focus on cultivated meat in South Korea, reflecting the sector’s expanding global footprint. CellX in China expressed confidence in achieving cost-effective mass production of cultivated fish, underscoring the sector’s technological advancements. CULT Food Science Corp appointed a new CEO, Mitchell Scott, signaling strategic leadership changes within the sector
However, not all developments were positive. Italy passed a bill banning the production and marketing of cultivated meat, reflecting resistance to this new technology in some traditional food cultures.
On the research front, new studies and books focused on sustainable food production and the challenges in cultivated meat production, highlighting both the potential and the hurdles in this rapidly evolving field.
See you next month!
Next events in Cultivated Meat
=> Food Tech Congress 2024 – May 29 – 30, 2024 Warsaw, Poland
News
German Government to boost alternative proteins with €38m investment November 28, 2023
In its 2024 budget, the German Government has allocated €38m for the promotion of precision-fermented, plant-based and cultivated meat and dairy alternatives. However, the majority of the funding, some €20m, will be devoted to phasing out animal husbandry, instead promoting the transition towards the production of cultivated, fermented and plant-based… Read more: German Government to boost alternative proteins with €38m investment
ESA explores cultivated meat for space food November 12, 2023
Their primary goal was to determine whether cultivated meat, i.e. growing meat in bioreactors using real animal cells, is a viable option for space, as a protein food source that can be produced in-situ. Over the past year, the selected teams, one made up of the German company yuri and… Read more: ESA explores cultivated meat for space food
Protein Diversification Think Tank Policy Brief on Accelerating Protein Diversification for Europe November 5, 2023
Accelerating Protein Diversification for Europe is a policy brief on protein diversification, presenting a summary of policy recommendations aimed at accelerating progress towards a transformative shift in how we produce and consume protein. It has been developed by the EIT Food Protein Diversification Think Tank in consultation with experts and… Read more: Protein Diversification Think Tank Policy Brief on Accelerating Protein Diversification for Europe
Cultivated meat needs a trillion-dollar Biden moonshot November 4, 2023
You know things are hot when celebrities are signing term sheets. While helpful, it’s not their money that’s propping up the food-tech ecosystem. So the question here is this: Do VCs have the fortitude to continue supporting the more than 150 startups seeking to design a cell-cultured analogue to cheap… Read more: Cultivated meat needs a trillion-dollar Biden moonshot
Companies and key players
OMEAT completes construction of pilot plant in its steady march to scale up November 27, 2023
The 15,000-square-foot pilot plant, located outside of Los Angeles, California, is designed to house bioreactors up to 10,000L in size and has the capacity to produce up to 400 tons of product annually. The new facility is part of Omeat’s unique vertically integrated approach. Source: OMEAT COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION OF PILOT… Read more: OMEAT completes construction of pilot plant in its steady march to scale up
Cultivated meat leader Meatabe opens new pilot facility in Leiden to scale cultivated pork development November 25, 2023
The new Leiden facility has opened following Meatable’s $35M Series B round in the summer and marks an important step towards commercializing its cultivated pork products. Its location in the University area of Leiden ensures proximity to expert knowledge and state-of-the-art facilities. This will help Meatable expand its development capacity… Read more: Cultivated meat leader Meatabe opens new pilot facility in Leiden to scale cultivated pork development
Bene Meat Technologies Receives First-Ever EU Approval for Cultivated Meat for Pet Food November 24, 2023
It was only this January that the startup announced it was developing animal cell lines to produce cultivated meat ingredients for the pet food industry. Nonetheless, today, BMT announces that it has received a license from the European Feed Materials Register to commercialise its products. This organization oversees the authorization… Read more: Bene Meat Technologies Receives First-Ever EU Approval for Cultivated Meat for Pet Food
Triplebar raises $20m to expand bioproduct design engine ‘running evolution at hyper-speed’ November 15, 2023
“Our expertise enables the product and process discovery to scale at orders of magnitude, faster and cheaper than any other company that’s out there. We take a hypothesis-free approach and say what’s the phenotype, the output of the thing that we’re looking for? And then Triplebar technology enables us to… Read more: Triplebar raises $20m to expand bioproduct design engine ‘running evolution at hyper-speed’
Steakholder Foods Announces Cost Reduction in Growth Media for Bovine Cell Cultivation November 14, 2023
The company’s biology team has reduced the cost of its in-house growth media for bovine cell cultivation in suspension by just over 75% from prices two years ago. Source: Steakholder Foods Announces Cost Reduction in Growth Media for Bovine Cell Cultivation
Shin Ramyun Maker Invest $7.4M in Food Tech with Cultivated Meat Focus November 6, 2023
Nongshim, the company behind the ultra-famous Shin Ramyun noodle brand, will pour the capital into helping discover and foster emerging companies working with the future of food in South Korea, particularly in areas like smart farming, digital transformation and cultivated meat, which it views as the closest and most viable… Read more: Shin Ramyun Maker Invest $7.4M in Food Tech with Cultivated Meat Focus
China’s CellX is Confident it “Can Achieve Cost-Effective Mass Production of Cultivated Fish” November 3, 2023
A month after announcing it had commenced operations at what it claims to be China’s first large-scale pilot plant for cultivated meat, CellX states this week it has made significant strides towards the industrial application of cultivated seafood.“ Through the use of high-throughput equipment and systematic research methods for cell… Read more: China’s CellX is Confident it “Can Achieve Cost-Effective Mass Production of Cultivated Fish”
CULT Food Science appoints food industry entrepreneur Mitchell Scott as CEO November 2, 2023
CULT Food Science Corp (CSE:CULT, OTCQB:CULTF) announced that it has appointed Mitchell Scott as its new CEO effective November 1, 2023, following the resignation of Lejjy Gafour. Source: CULT Food Science appoints food industry entrepreneur Mitchell Scott as CEO | CSE:CULT, OTCQB:CULTF
Market
🎥 What is the market in China for meat and dairy alternatives? November 17, 2023
Dao Foods International,* which has invested in multiple startups in the alt protein arena in China including leading domestic player Starfield, was equally enthusiastic about plant-based dairy, and more positive than Ho about plant-based meat, although cofounder Tao Zhang acknowledged the challenges facing startups in the space. Source: 🎥 What… Read more: 🎥 What is the market in China for meat and dairy alternatives?
Report: 75% of UK flexitarians don’t want plant-based meat November 13, 2023
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of flexitarian eaters in the UK wouldn’t select a plant-based item on a restaurant menu. That’s according to a new poll of 2,000 meat eaters conducted by plant-based alt-meat maker Vegetarian Butcher and Burger King UK. The poll also revealed that 48% of meat eaters in the… Read more: Report: 75% of UK flexitarians don’t want plant-based meat
Upstream tech is the new star of Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech November 11, 2023
Asia-Pacific has long been a hotbed for agrifoodtech innovation. That’s unlikely to change, despite the recent drop in agrifoodtech funding to the region. Investment in Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech startups reached $6.5 billion in 2022, a 58% year-over-year decline on 2021’s record-breaking year, according to the new Asia-Pacific Agrifood Investment report from… Read more: Upstream tech is the new star of Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech
The secret ingredient to plant-based meat? Real meat November 10, 2023
“Blended meat” (also called hybrid meat) combines a small amount of fat and protein from traditional meat sources with a plant-based product to elevate the taste and mouthfeel of alternative proteins while keeping most of the emissions benefits of a non-meat food. “If you really have the goal of reducing… Read more
Laws, ethics and lobbies
Italy bans cultivated meat, restricts plant-based meat labelling November 29, 2023
Italy’s government has announced the passing of a bill banning the production and marketing of cultivated meat. The measures, which also restrict labelling for plant-based products, aim to protect Italy’s traditional food culture. The bill, which bans the production and promotion of cultivated meat, was passed by Italy’s Chamber of… Read more: Italy bans cultivated meat, restricts plant-based meat labelling
Bene Meat Technologies Receives First-Ever EU Approval for Cultivated Meat for Pet Food November 24, 2023
It was only this January that the startup announced it was developing animal cell lines to produce cultivated meat ingredients for the pet food industry. Nonetheless, today, BMT announces that it has received a license from the European Feed Materials Register to commercialise its products. This organization oversees the authorization… Read more: Bene Meat Technologies Receives First-Ever EU Approval for Cultivated Meat for Pet Food
‘The anti-livestock people are a pest’: how UN food body played down role of farming in climate change November 2, 2023
In her own research into how agribusiness reacted to Livestock’s Long Shadow, Jacquet found “clear evidence that the industry saw it as a threat and something that they needed to control. They call it ‘a major PR problem’. It set off an industry lobbying coalition somewhat comparable to the oil… Read more
Research
The big business of sustainable food production and consumption: Exploring the transition to alternative proteins November 30, 2023
The paper demonstrates how differences in technological maturity across the niche innovations have resulted in potentially transformative pressures, which are consistent with an emerging sustainability transition, manifesting differently in terms of the extent of diffusion of the alternative protein niches. Source: The big business of sustainable food production and consumption:… Read more: The big business of sustainable food production and consumption: Exploring the transition to alternative proteins
Stem cell-based strategies and challenges for production of cultivated meat November 9, 2023
In this Review, we explore the potential of stem cells to create the major cellular components of cultivated meat. By using developments in the fields of tissue engineering and biomedicine, we explore the advantages and disadvantages of strategies involving primary adult and pluripotent stem cells for generating cell sources that… Read more: Stem cell-based strategies and challenges for production of cultivated meat
New Book : Advances in cultured meat technology November 1, 2023
Advances in cultured meat technology reviews the growing interest and emergence in the field of cellular agriculture as one possible solution to achieving this. The book reviews the major technologies used in cultured meat product development, including cell line sourcing, cell growth media, bioreactors for cell multiplication and tissue engineering… Read more
Other alternatives to meat
Impossible Foods CEO: ‘I feel good about where we are, I do not feel good about where the category is’ November 26, 2023
Speaking to AgFunderNews after Impossible Beef Lite secured certification from the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Food Certification Program (more on this below) McGuinness said: “I’ve spoken to all the CEOs in plant-based meat and I think we all agree that our foods can continue to get better. The category is very challenged… Read more: Impossible Foods CEO: ‘I feel good about where we are, I do not feel good about where the category is’
Tyson Foods Announces Partnership with Protix for More Sustainable Protein Production November 16, 2023
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), one of the world’s largest food companies, has reached an agreement for a two-fold investment with Protix, the leading global insect ingredients company. The strategic investment will support the growth of the emerging insect ingredient industry and expand the use of insect ingredient solutions to… Read more: Tyson Foods Announces Partnership with Protix for More Sustainable Protein Production
South Korea Unveils Ambitious Plan to Cultivate Thriving Plant-Based Food Industry November 8, 2023
The government of South Korea has made the strategic decision to foster the development of a plant-based food industry within the country. Plant-based substitutes, consisting of ingredients like soybeans, are being promoted as alternatives to animal protein. Source: South Korea Unveils Ambitious Plan to Cultivate Thriving Plant-Based Food Industry