Concern for cultured meat is a tradition among farmers. Farmers have always been concerned about cultured meat. Recent reportRoyal Agricultural University in the United Kingdom DiscoverBritish farmers were open to the opportunities it offered, but they were concerned about its impact on their communities. In a letter sent to the European Council earlier this year You can suggest thatCultured meat was dangerous for traditional farming methods. The decision was made to ban the production of cultured animal meat. Italian government cites farmers.
What if farmers themselves produced cultured meat?
Startups from the Netherlands and Germany have developed technology that will allow farmers to grow cultured meat in their own fields, using abundant livestock as cells.
Both companies aim to put farmers at the center of the growing industry.
Decentralizing cultured meat
As for the actual production of cultured meat, it is generally done industrially. The amount of meat produced on farms is smaller and more local. The RAU report describes it as “decentralized.”
Conventional cultured meat production is for large bioreactors in a mega-industrial plant. Production takes place in a single large building. Alexander Heuer is co-founder and co-CEO of German startup Meatosys. He told FoodNavigator that the majority of cultured meat production takes place on farms.
The company’s bioreactors, which are plug-and-ply in nature, are housed in a 40-foot (12 m) shipping container on each farmer’s farm. Only the steps in the value chain that require specialized laboratory equipment are covered by the company. Final growth and differentiation are done on the farm.
It's about decentralization: instead of one large production facility, our production is distributed among farms that choose to install our machines, with the support of regional logistics platforms.
The company will be both a supplier of nutrients and stem cells and a customer for the farmer.
Respect Farms, a Dutch startup, aims to give farmers the tools to produce cultured meat on their own farms. The company is developing a demonstration farm to show that it can be done. The company has worked with farmers in Brazil, Germany, France and Italy.
Respect Farms, co-founder of FoodNavigator and systems integrator for meat producers looking to move toward a more animal-friendly and sustainable production method.
She explained to us that the advantages of such a system are also the decentralization of risks. The main difference between large-scale cultured meat and farm-scale cultivation is that today, farm-scale production has already been achieved. Scaling up cell culture processes to volumes as large as 50,000 L is not possible and involves significant technical risks. These risks are mitigated by using proven volumes: we scale up by scaling down.
A renewable energy company
In Europe, many farms are powered by renewable energy. Meatosys, along with Respect Farms, works with farmers who use renewable energy to power their bioreactors for cultured meat.
By 2020, solar panels are used by 43 % Dutch farmersThis trend is growing. A large part of Dutch agriculture focuses on renewable energy as part of its diversified and stable operations. We have learned in recent years that a stable and independent energy source is an essential factor for a resilient and sustainable food production system,” Zieglowski of Respect Farms told us.
Meatosys can use this renewable energy for the production of its meat products in Germany.
Heuer claims that his company's production can be powered by nearly 100 % of renewable energy. Heuer told us that in Germany, it would be "hard" to find a farmer who doesn't use solar, biogas or wind power.
He told us that "we consume electricity where it is produced. This reduces the need for grid upgrades and offers cost reductions for farmers who want to invest in alternative energy sources."
How much will it cost?
The RAU report says farms producing cultured meat will cost on average £30 billion more than factories producing the same product. The research, which was conducted with UK farms in mind, suggests there are still significant challenges.
Meatosys' Heuer says the system could have other benefits that could help reduce costs.
He told us that "most calculations assume that large-scale production in a centralized location will work without problems." Large-scale plants that use organic materials pose special problems. The rules of scaling don't always apply to biology. You can't just increase the size of the reactor and have things run as they did before.
It is difficult to control the various operating parameters of such a large container.
What's next for the cultured meat industry?
Most markets have not yet approved meat culture. Recently we have seen approval for its sale. First request for EU approvalGourmey, a French company that produces foie gras. The first application was submitted by Israeli Aleph Farms a year earlier In the United KingdomYou can also learn more about the following countries: Swiss.
So far, the only approved markets are Singapore and Hong Kong. IsraelThe United States: Although the industry has made progress, most consumers are still unaware of cultured meat.
The pressure in an animal's uterus is significantly higher than the pressure found at the bottom of a large container. He suggested that this could lead to uncontrolled differentiation of cells.
If you use a large amount of medium for cell culture and it spoils, you will waste a lot more money than if the tank was smaller, such as in a small farm.
Both Respect Farms and Meatosys are looking for ways to reduce the cost of cell culture media – one of the most expensive components of cultured beef production – by using alternative ingredients.
We are looking at every possible way to reduce the price of nutritional media and are working to include farmers in the entire value chain. Heuer of Meatosys told us that they see great potential in sourcing many ingredients directly from farmers. This would create a “circular economy.”
Zieglowksi of Respect Farms says existing crops can be used to produce cultured meat. We focus on crops that are relevant to agriculture and the side streams associated with it to create a circular and sustainable bioprocess.
Farmers are important
Meatosys' Heuer told us, "We're not leaving anyone behind. Especially the people who have fed humanity for thousands of years." This method allows farmers, who are the backbone of the food supply system, to be more integrated into the chain.
Heuer said his company doesn’t want to eliminate animal agriculture but rather give farmers more choices. Animal agriculture is part of an ecosystem that encompasses many aspects beyond meat production. “Our farmers still have animals but fewer because our technology multiplies them.”
He suggested that cultured meat production was “more financially viable” than traditional animal farming. This is due to changing German animal welfare regulations, which he said require farmers to regularly rearrange their floor plans to give more space to the animals. It is “highly unlikely” that the same would happen in cultured meat production. In cultured meat, zoonotic diseases are less prevalent.
Farmers benefit from the production method, and not only. Scientists and engineers, for example, have a completely different set of knowledge than farmers. Scientists and farmers have complementary knowledge.
Our employees are not food producers, but scientists. Zieglowksi of Respect Farms explained to us that farmers produce food, but they are not scientists.
Scientists may not understand the differences between regenerative agriculture and organic farming. Their customers trust them. Respect Farms is a company that, like Meatosys, aims to keep farmers in the supply chain they’ve helped maintain for years.
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