Let's not mince words. Cultivated meat is making a global push with its potential to eliminate the downsides of current meat consumption, writes Megan Jane de Paulo.
Old MacDonald had a lab,
Ee i ee i oh,
And in his lab he grew some cows,
Ee i ee i oh...
The concept of lab-grown meat – or “cultivated" meat as is the preferred term – is not a new one. In fact, it first appeared in literature in 1881 in the feminist science fiction utopian novel Mizora by Mary E Bradley Lane.
Since then, it’s been a standard feature of dystopian and cyberpunk fiction to have cultivated protein in some form mentioned — vat-grown, syntho-steak, kibble and so on. To us readers of such fantastical worlds, we now stand on the brink of this becoming a reality.
The first proof-of-concept cultivated beef burger was presented to the world on 5 August 2013 by Mark Post, a Dutch pharmacologist who is Professor of Vascular Physiology at Maastricht University and Professor of Angiogenesis in Tissue Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Austrian nutritional scientist Hanni Rützler judged it to be just like meat, although not yet as juicy. It took several months and cost €250,000 (AU$473,000) to produce.
Cultivated meat has actually been in the "initial production" phase for a few years. One of the first producers was Californian company Eat Just, Inc. (established in 2011 under its initial name Beyond Eggs), gradually followed by companies in Japan, Israel and Europe. This is not just about producing a fake burger, however: the range of proposed products covers basic meat such as beef, pork and chicken, but also salmon, tuna, crocodile and various “exotic” meats.
The first Australian company that has moved past the proof-of-concept stage is Vow. At the end of 2022, it managed to secure serious funding worth AU$73 million, with a view to supplying Singapore with its first product, "Morsel” — an umami-rich protein with an accent of seafood that’s been cultivated from cells of the Japanese umai quail.
Its approach is different to other cultivated meat companies in that they are focusing on producing new custom proteins rather than replicating beef, pork or chicken. The company's Forged By Vow brand is also responsible for the Mammoth Meatball. But don’t run to the store just yet — Vow states it was a just a demonstration of how cultivated meat can tackle the global issues in food production.
We don’t actually know what the effects of a prehistoric protein would have on the modern human body. Still, it wasn’t a bad way to get a lot of attention for a growing company at the arse-end of the world, either.
Singapore is the first country to support a consumer-cultivated meat as it strives towards its 30 by 30 goal (to reach 30% of food self-sustainability before 2030). With 720 square kilometres of land available and only 1% used for food farms, Singapore imports almost all of its produce. Embracing new technologies which reduce the space required for traditional methods of food production is a no-brainer.
It is taking time, though. In the two years since approval, only Huber's Butchery in Singapore's affluent Dempsey Hill area stocks cultivated chicken produced by Eat Just. Mass production is not nearly a reality yet.
Unlike other countries such as Australia, Singapore has no long-established food production industries that are – expectedly – not going to be keen to share their market with new players who can produce meat that will potentially be cheaper, more sustainable and healthier.
Australia exports around two-thirds of the beef we produce to over 100 countries, valued at around $9.2 billion. Australia exports an average of US$3.2 billion (AU$4.8 billion) of lamb and mutton each year, making up 37% of global exports.
Despite meat consumption in Australia actually decreasing, these industries are probably going to have some say in the future of an emerging competitor in their market. Additionally, the new neighbour on the block – the plant-based food industry, currently valued at AU$140 million – is not going to be keen to share the meat substitute stage, although cultivated meat is not considered acceptable for the vegan diet.
It will be some time before the kids are wailing, “Awww, Mum, not Mammoth Meatballs for dinner again!".
Australia and New Zealand have not yet approved or set requirements for “cell-based meat” in the Food Standards Code — but any product hitting the market would need to be pre-approved in accordance with existing codes.
Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida has announced that his country would become the first to back a bill banning laboratory-produced meat and other synthetic foods, citing the damage it would inflict on Italian food heritage and culture. A fine of €60,000 (AU$114,000) would be incurred for breaking the ban. However, opposition to synthetic food would be rendered moot unless Italy plans to “Itaxit” since there is free movement of goods and services within the European Union.
There is a lot to be said for the potential reduction in environmental impact food production has with cultivated meat: Australian beef and sheep industries currently contribute about 10% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions and 54% (or 4.2 million square kilometres) of its land is used for grazing.
Unaccountable is the loss of native wildlife for these industries to sustain export numbers. As we plunge further into the climate change crisis, it makes sense for an industry with a smaller environmental footprint – a potentially decreased polluter – to be heralded. We can’t stop cows and sheep farting, but using renewable energy and other technologies to reduce waste are important arguments for a shift in protein production.
Even with mass production of cultivated meat, it’s predicted water usage would be reduced. And if that’s of concern to any country, in particular, it’s Australia.
Will cultivated meat transform us into some kind of zombie-apocalyptic army lurching in the endless search of synthetic brains? While that is perhaps some people's perception, the reality is that cultivated meat may eliminate the downsides of current meat consumption since it can manipulate aspects such as bad cholesterol, disease and antibiotic and hormone usage.
One detail is undeniable — no animals are subjected to cruelty in cultivated meat production. No animals raised in brutal situations. No need for humane means of slaughter — slaughter is unnecessary. Cultivated meat and other potential products, such as synthesised milk and eggs, eliminate the unsavoury aspects of consumption.
It’s not going to be easy for consumers to digest. Cultivated meat companies have, from the beginning, been very cautious about the language used — cultivated, clean meat and so on. Traditional industries cling to the past: the heritage of farming, using “synthetic” and “fake” to describe these products implying their state as unnatural, created by scientists, not grown by salt-of-the-earth farmers decked out in Akubras and RM Williams.
Religious leaders will need to address how these new foods fit into their views of the world for supplicants. Governments will need to evaluate legislation. There will need to be compromise between industries. But importantly, individuals will need to want to adapt to these new "meat" products (another plus — we may finally find out just what is in a nugget or cocktail sausage).
In his 1984 cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, speculative fiction writer William Gibson wrote:
'"Jesus," Molly said, her own plate empty, "gimme that. You know what this costs?" She took his plate. "They gotta raise a whole animal for years and then they kill it. This isn't vat stuff." She forked a mouthful up and chewed.'
By Gibson’s own admission, this novel is set in 2035. That’s only 13 years into the future.
Fiction to reality. It’s on our plates for sure.
Megan Jane de Paulo is a Melbourne-based, inner-city latte sipper and social media provocateur. You can follow Megan on Twitter @gomichild.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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