Affordable Meat for the Masses

By Emma Craughan, Head of Sales, Bioprocess Equipment Specialists (BPES)

The ecological implications of the global livestock industry are more than just daunting. Accountable for over a third of all global greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity, the way we produce, process and package our meat accounts for more than all our cars, trains, ships and planes combined[1]. Responsible alternatives to the factory farming system have been explored with Cellular Agriculture at the forefront. Concentrating on the production of agricultural harvests made from cell cultures using a combination of biotechnology, tissue engineering, molecular biology and synthetic biology, the three main forms of Cellular Agriculture are: (i) Microbial Fermentation, (ii) Plant Fibres and (iii) cultured meat.

A 2011 study conducted by the University of Oxford, that is particularly outstanding to me, found that switching to cultured meat allows production of the same amount of meat in factories on 1% of the land currently used for ‘factory farming’. I also found that cultured meat produces 78-96% lower greenhouse gas emissions and also uses around 90% less water[2]. Following on from this insight, the predicted overall carbon footprint of a cultured beef industry catering to the global market is significantly lower than the carbon footprint of the current livestock farming system: roughly 92% lower than beef, 52% lower than pork and 17% lower than chicken[3].

I strongly believe that cultured meat industry could help to significantly reduce animal cruelty and suffering, which is prevalent in some markets with poor quality farming practices. Only small samples of quality tissue are removed through a biopsy operation. Those same samples can be maintained and cultivated for generations[4]. This cultured meat (sometimes referred to as ‘Clean Meat’, ‘Lab Meat’ or ‘Slaughter-Free Meat’…) uses a matrix of collagen seeded with muscle cells which is then bathed in a nutritious solution to induce division and growth. First envisioned by Dutch researcher Willem van Eelen in the 1950’s, this cell agriculture process uses a tissue engineering technique traditionally used in regenerative medicine.

Cultured meat production today tends to take place under microscopes with lab technicians present at every step, but I see all the time that work is on-going across many industry participants towards a more streamlined (and feasible) process. For example, Israeli startup ‘ProFuse’ attempts to mitigate cultured meat production issues by successfully using a novel medium supplement for cell growth[5]. 

Ultimately, finding a comfortable balance between sustainability and affordability, remains key and I feel is, finally, now within grasp: Sustainable energy sources powering large-scale production would bring down both emissions and production costs. As I mentioned earlier, cultured meat needs raw materials such as muscle cells, collagen matrixes, scaffolds and, particularly, specialised bioprocessing technology.

Continue reading the full article here: https://www.bpes.co.uk/affordable-meat-for-the-masses/

 
 
Valerie Evans