How to think about the costs of cultivated meat
And how those stack up with the environmental costs of conventional meat production.
Photo: Ivy Farm
Cultivated meat is getting a lot of attention lately. It’s natural for people to question new industries and technologies, especially when these advancements involve something deeply personal to most humans: food.
Why would we grow meat from cells when we can farm animals? What is the viability of this industry? Is cultivated meat safe? I’ve been asked these questions and many more throughout my career in the cultivated meat space.
I recently joined Erin McCann on the Compassionate + Beneficial Living™ podcast to give a high-level overview of the cultivated meat industry today and answer some of the most frequently asked questions I hear in my work.
The climate impact of meat
One of the topics we discussed was cultivated meat’s potential to address some of the most pressing issues our world faces today. While it’s important not to frame cultivated meat as a silver bullet solution, its potential to mitigate climate change, environmental damage, water pollution, and air pollution alongside plant-based meat, fermentation-derived proteins, and other agricultural innovations is not something to ignore.
Of course, cultivated meat must deliver on that promise to be worth its weight in meat. The latest data gives us many reasons to be optimistic that it will.
A recent peer-reviewed life cycle assessment found that cultivated meat requires up to 90 percent less land and could reduce air pollution by up to 94 percent compared to conventional beef. Cultivated meat could cut the climate impact of beef by up to 92 percent, especially when produced with renewable energy.
Farmers could also expand into new markets through cultivated meat. For example, soy protein hydrolysates may be used as a source of amino acids for cell culture media. While the majority of America’s soybean crop is currently used for animal feed, a new market for soy could offer higher prices and an opportunity to diversify the market. Experts at Purdue University predict soybean farmers will benefit from cultivated meat and these new opportunities.
This growth potential is especially relevant given that the current status quo of food production threatens farmers' livelihoods – from climate-driven drought and deforestation-fueled flooding to crop blights and the increased spread of viruses affecting pigs and birds. Growing and producing crops for a variety of alternative protein products could provide farmers with opportunities to grow food in ways that reduce risks, diversify income streams, help rebuild and retain soil, soak up carbon, improve water quality, bolster much-needed crop diversity, and promote resilience in our global food system.
A technical deep-dive
In the interest of sharing knowledge freely, GFI’s experts frequently host webinars to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the alt protein industry. I recently hosted a webinar to discuss the major cost drivers of cultivated meat production, the solutions needed to overcome them, and the remaining gaps the industry must close.
With many possible production scenarios and approaches, we can not yet confidently say what the cost of cultivated meat production is today or what it will be in the future. There are, however, some key things to remember when considering the viability of this industry.
Media and infrastructure: The cell culture media and infrastructure, including new buildings and equipment like bioreactors, drive the cost of cultivated meat production. Reducing costs in these two buckets is essential to achieving future cost competitiveness. Luckily, scientists and engineers all around the world have begun to create innovative solutions to alleviate costs, with media costs already dropping over 99 percent from their starting point a decade ago.
Context is critical: Details matter when discussing how cultivated meat costs compare to those of conventional meat. This includes variations in product types, such as chicken versus foie gras, and whether the product is 100 percent cultivated meat or a hybrid blend of cultivated and plant-based ingredients. With a high-end product type like foie gras, a 100 percent cultivated meat product could become cost-competitive in the near term. For commodity meats like chicken or pork, hybrid products may be the best approach to reach cost competitiveness.
Learning curves: The solar panel industry initially faced high production costs, similar to what the cultivated meat industry faces today. Initially, only the satellite industry was willing to adopt the high cost profile, but the experience allowed manufacturers to learn and improve production processes, leading to cost reductions. Over time, solar energy has become one of the most cost-efficient forms of energy production. Similarly, the cultivated meat industry will be able to apply learnings from the production of premium products to move down the cost curve and reach larger commodity markets serving chicken, pork, and beef.
Catalyzing innovation: The ideal future scenario involves a positive feedback loop: scaled production leads to lower costs and enhanced products through learning, thereby driving increased demand and adoption rates among target audiences, which in turn fuels further scaled production, and so forth. Achieving this requires substantial investment in the industry, and venture capital alone will not suffice. Just as in other capital-intensive ventures like renewable energy, governments play a crucial role by offering incentives such as tax credits, loan guarantees, grants, or procurement contracts. To realize cultivated meat's potential in meeting the growing meat demand, mitigating climate impacts, and promoting sustainable farming, governments must invest in sustainable, large-scale production.
Dive deeper into the cost drivers of cultivated meat.
Transforming the global food system is a relay race, not a sprint.
With more than 150 companies operating in the cultivated meat sector worldwide, some are bound not to make it across the finish line —as has been the case in clean energy, electric vehicles, and other emerging technologies. But there have been real wins in the cultivated meat space that are worth celebrating. As you read this, a rapidly growing number of academic scientists are innovating and optimizing cultivated meat products so consumers will be able to enjoy the foods they love without sacrifice.
Early signs point to the emergence of a robust cultivated meat ecosystem of specialist companies that can offer vital business-to-business technology solutions, alleviating the burden on individual companies to innovate across the entire value chain. The industry has made remarkable progress in a short amount of time. Ten years ago, the first cultivated meat burger debuted at an estimated cost of $300,000. Today, select cultivated meat products have been approved for sale in the United States, Singapore, and Israel.
We are at the very early stages of cultivated meat’s entrance into the marketplace and fully expect the industry landscape, the science, and the products to evolve. The companies and products receiving the majority of consumer, investor, and media attention today may look completely different in the next five years.
The scientists working on cultivated meat today share much in common with others working across the entire food system—most notably, a commitment to feeding the world in a more efficient, resilient, and socially just way. Founded by physicians, environmental leaders, diplomats, and researchers in the United States and around the world, cultivated meat startups are developing a broad array of products.
It’s more than an emerging market, it’s a shared vision: meat grown directly in cultivators can offer consumers a way to enjoy the meat they love with less impact on the environment. It’s early days for this technology and realizing this vision will take time — but the reality is that after decades of efforts from climate and sustainability advocates to encourage people to eat less meat and more plants, meat consumption continues to rise globally.
Visionaries in the cultivated meat industry are offering us a new path forward. Let's seize it.
The cultivated meat sector is evolving rapidly. Alt Protein Planet is a great resource to follow along on the journey and receive timely insights directly in your inbox.
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