In the early part of the last century, Sir Winston Churchill made a prediction: “We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium”.

Fast forward to 2013 and Mosa Meat, set up by Prof. Mark Post in the Netherlands, produced the first lab grown beefburger. Seven years later, and Churchill’s specific reality has arrived, with the first lab grown chicken meat served to customers in a restaurant in Singapore. This marked an historic moment for the nascent ‘in-vitro’ meat industry, demonstrating that, not only can regulatory approval be achieved for novel foods, but there is a growing consumer acceptance and appetite for cultured meat.

A year later and the largest lab-grown steak ever – weighing in at 4oz – was produced by Israeli company MeaTech 3D, using 3D printing with real bovine cells that mature into muscle and fat.

The benefits are clear. In vitro meat offers a sustainable and humane alternative to the raising and slaughtering of livestock, is potentially better for the environment by helping to cut greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and potentially health.

But understanding the barriers to acceptance are key. Vireo Advisors scientists Dr Kim Ong and Dr Jo Anne Shatkin collaborated with New Harvest and 50 companies on a peer reviewed paper “Food Safety Considerations and Research Priorities for the Cultured Meat and Seafood Industry” (published in October 2021). The manuscript reported on data requirements for demonstrating the safety of cell cultured meat and seafood by systematically evaluating the potential hazards that could be introduced during manufacturing. The paper also developed research priorities that could support safe commercialization.

The introduction of lab grown fish has yet to be realized but offers many potential upsides toward preserving biodiversity and life under water. It could also be welcomed by consumers amid rising concerns regarding the presence of toxins, pathogens and micro particles of plastic and mercury in wild fish. Since 1950, humans have taken an astonishing 6 billion tons of fish and invertebrates out of the world’s oceans. Consumption continues to outpace supply and this will only worsen with the global population speeding towards 9 billion. With seafood in mind, a team of scientists at the University of Lisbon are set to use algae to develop new techniques for cultivating boneless fish fillets from sea bass cells.

And the new developments are coming thick and fast. Last week, The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland announced that it had successfully brewed the world’s first cup of lab-grown coffee. Coffee is undoubtedly a major contributor to deforestation in developing nations, responsible for excessive water usage, damaging biodiversity and releasing carbon emissions. Whilst lab grown coffee has not yet been approved for consumption, this development paves a way of thinking towards a more sustainable alternative to naturally grown coffee beans for coffee drinkers. It also represents a huge opportunity for the global coffee market, worth an estimated $102.15 B.

But what of the human impact? As fishermen and agricultural workers struggle to deal with the long-term effects of climate change on their products, the lab grown food sector posits an opportunity to use drastically fewer resources and space to grow or graze and could potentially provide sustainable alternatives.

In addition, lab grown foods offer huge potential to positively impact the UN Sustainable Goals on climate change, antibiotic resistance, food security, food safety and quality, biodiversity, hunger eradication, life on land and life below water. At Vireo, we are passionate about cultured meat and fish and we work tirelessly with organizations and regulators to help bring them safely to market.

Photo: Wildtype, Salmon