Cell-Based Meat

Cell-Based Meat

1. What is prompting the idea of cell-based meat?

   • The production of meat is known to release lots of green house gasses, this alternative can help reduce that amount of green house gas.
   • Production of livestock, more specifically cattle, requires lots of land that can be very sparse today with the growing populations. Cell-based meat can reduce the amount of land needed to produce food for the growing population.
   • "By 2030 the number of cows in the USA will have fallen by 50% and the cattle farming industry will be all but bankrupt." (Tubb and Seba, 2019 as cited in Thompson, Cell-based meat 9.4, slide 4)
   • With the production of cell-based meat, food security can improve. Cell-based meat is another source of protien that can be provided to indiviuals in need.
   • When producing alternative protein sources, it can be very challenging to match the taste and texture, as well as the nutritional profile. Producing cell-based proteins, these challenges shrink.

2. What is cell-based meat?

   • Cell-based or also called lab-grown meat is an edible animal cell culture. In order to grow cell-based meat, biopsies are taken from host animals. These biopsies undergo cell culturing and are put into large fermentation vats. Once they have grown the cells undergo processing and structuring steps that result in "cell-based meat". (Paul Wood, 2023 as cited in Thompson, Cell-based meat 9.4, slide 5)

3. What are the roadblocks of producing cell-based meat?

   • The production of cell-based meat requires lots of technology as well as lots of space. Numerous bioreactors are needed to ensure cell proliferation. These bioreactors are large in size, requiring large facilities.
     • "CE Delft estimated the cost of a facility to produce 10Kton/year of cell-based meat would be $450M US. This facility did not include the cost of downstream processing, formulation of final product, packaging and QC." (Paul Wood, 2022 as cited in Thompson, Cell-based meat 9.4, slide 11)
   • The cost of inputs and materials is high. As this is new technology, it will require the production of lots of new machines and devices that are needed in the production steps.
     • "The first cell-based burger produced in 2013 by Maastricht University cost $280,400 to produce" (Thompson, Cell-based meat 9.4, slide 10)
   • Consumer acceptance is an unknown factor. Consumers are very concerned with what they are consuming. The idea of pulling cells out of living animals in order to create a new product might not be accepted by all consumers. Technically cell-based meat is made from tumor cells as they are immortalized.
   • Production of cell-based meat requires an immense amount of energy. This brings a risk to the environment if fossil fuels are used. This results in a very negative sustainability aspect

4. Regulations and guidelines

   • "In march of 2019, FDA and USDA reached an agreement on regulatory responsibilities with FDA overseeing cell collection and development to the point of harvest and USDA overseeing the manufacture and labeling of food products derived from the cells." ( Thompson, Cell-based meat 9.4, slide 17)
   • No labeling requirement has been specifically put forward and it is unlikely that this issue will be addressed anytime soon. (Thompson, Cell-based meat 9.4, slide 17)
     • Labeling has a strong impact on consumers. It is possible that consumers may not like the labeling that would clarify whether or not the meat is cell-based. Without this labeling being required, the saleability of cell-based meat will be unharmed.

5. Other issues that arise with the production of cell-based meat.

   • The production of livestock also includes the production of co-products. Items such as leather, pet food, cosmetics, fertilizers and other chemicals are common co-products of livestock. The demand of livestock will decrease drastically as a result of the production of cell-based meat. With less animals, the challenge of producing these co-products will arise. Additional alternative technologies will be needed to supplement this production
   • When producing cell-based meat, matching the taste, texture, smell, and nutritional value may not be matched exactly. Although this method is better, in terms of matching traditional meat, than plant sourced protein, additives are still needed.