Lab meat transition inevitable despite public fear

Would you eat meat that was grown in a lab?

If you’re like many Australians or New Zealanders your answer is likely “no”. Research shows half of the population doesn’t want to eat it and 30 per cent have serious misgivings about its safety.

Our reluctance to try this new protein was discussed in detail in Sydney as dozens of global experts in tech, finance, agriculture and academia attended a day-long conference about what they prefer to call “cellular agriculture”. Previous industry-wide discussions had been held in secret, but Thursday's CellAg Summit was refreshingly on-the-record.

Many of the experts who spoke expressed an urgent need to change the minds of detractors as the technology could be essential to stopping future famines, particularly in the third world.

Available agricultural land is reaching capacity, weather is becoming more unstable because of climate change, and the world's population is expected to hit 10 billion by 2080. If this new food technology is to save us, there's a long way to go in both scaling the technology to market and gaining consumer acceptance.

Is lab meat safe?

Despite its potential and lack of health risks, the sector has an image problem. Here are three key points you should know about the industry:

• Fermentation methods used to cultivate it are already used to manufacture other foods and beverages.

• No one has become seriously ill or died from eating lab-grown chicken since Singapore became the first nation to approve its sale in 2020.

• Australia and New Zealand have a rigorous food safety approval system, so it won't hit the shelves unless it's safe.

Experts are warning Australia’s negative perception of cellular agriculture needs to change, or Australia could miss out on benefiting from billions of dollars in revenue as food production changes. What's clear is that other nations including the United States are investing in the sector, China has included the technology as part of its five-year plan, and the Middle East wants to be food independent.

The majority of the industry in Australia agrees it must be transparent with consumers, and producers must work together. Because consumers are making their minds up about the protein now, whether the industry is read or not.

Warning not to repeat the mistakes of GMO

Consumers are often reluctant to accept change. Even though pasteurisation is widely used now, when it was unveiled there was resistance. But not all new food technologies have gained acceptance — genetically modified foods (GMOs) were met with fear in the 1980s and 1990s and the industry never recovered.

“We really need to be very careful about getting messages right, in order not to have the same drama again,” Megan Stanton a protein marketing specialist at Mintel told the conference.

She noted Australians don’t know a lot about cellular agriculture, and explaining it properly will be a challenge. However she warned if the industry does not get on the front foot, the knowledge vacuum will be filled by those who have an alternative message about the industry to sell. “If it’s done badly it sticks,” she said.

Will this new protein replace farmed meat?

Globally, billions of dollars have been invested in alternative proteins and there are over 2000 start-ups competing to develop meat and milk that tastes like the real thing.

These technologies also have the potential to produce creative products like mammoth meatballs - a novelty product manufactured by Australian-owned Vow. More importantly, the medical sector could also benefit. One company is looking to synthesise human breast milk which could help mothers struggling to lactate.

Paul Bevan, the founder of Magic Valley has already cultivated pork mince in a lab —which our own Brianne Tolj tried this year and said tasted almost like the real thing. He believes it’s “inevitable” that cellular meat will become the world’s default protein. But “don’t expect it to happen anytime soon,” he told the conference.

Jim Fader is the founder of Eden Brew, a company that has partnered with traditional dairy cooperative Norco to ferment milk without needing cows. Other major dairy producers from across the country have already reached out to him and he predicts over the next 20 to 30 years, cellular products will play a large role in augmenting existing supply, and give farmers an alternative income stream.

Why regional areas could benefit

It’s not just large tech companies that are set to benefit, many of the new businesses are being set up in regional areas. Michele Stansfield is the co-founder and CEO of Cauldron Ferm, a start-up based in Orange that’s working to create precision fermentation on a global scale.

Her company received significant support from state governments who have backed her efforts to utilise skilled workforces transitioning away from fossil fuel production.

The interest she has in cellular agriculture developed when she saw farmers feeding the pigs the same quality food humans could have eaten. This waste is something she thinks has to change, because until the world becomes smarter at creating and delivering food, we won’t be able to feed ourselves.

This was highlighted during the coronavirus pandemic. “People didn’t understand the supply chain until it fell apart,” Ms Stansfield told the conference.

She wants to see the federal government produce a food security plan that includes cellular agriculture. “We don’t want to be solving this when it’s a problem. We don’t want the government to be saying you can’t export Australia’s animal-derived proteins because Australia is starving,” she said.

Australia has experienced shortages during flooding over the last two years, and experts like 2007 Australian of the Year, Dr Tim Flannery have warned the situation is set to get worse as the weather becomes more extreme.

Is it ready to feed the world?

Despite the hype, cellular agriculture continues to struggle with scaling up production to commercial quantities. Some claims its potential have been exaggerated. Others have got their business model wrong and had to downsize — Singapore-based Shiok Meat shed half its workforce this year.

Phil Morle, a partner at Main Sequence — a technology investment company founded by the CSIRO — warned if the sector doesn't deliver on its promises, "the whole thing could collapse into a smouldering pile of nothing”.

Many investment firms aren't looking for new opportunities but are instead doubling down on the companies they've already backed to ensure they don't fail. The next step for most cellular agriculture producers is to move from the conceptual to actually selling food. Ultimately he thinks the industry will be succesful in Australia - “We could be a global powerhouse," he predicted.

How sustainable is it?

Another issue the industry must conquer is the amount of energy production currently requires, but that will cease to be an issue if renewables continue to advance. Assuming that happens, the protein will require less land, less water and produce less total emissions when compared to intensive animal systems.

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• Peter Singer: Can we morally kill AI if it becomes self-aware?

While sustainability and animal welfare are often spruiked as key benefits of this new protein, those attending the CellAg summit generally agreed that this will not be enough to drive consumer change. They believe taste, nutrition and price will be key.

“Most people act out of self-interest,” one expert reminded the room. “What consumers care about the most is themselves and what happens now,” another analyst concurred.

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