12 May 2021
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2 min read
Memphis Meats is one of a growing number of companies disrupting the protein sector with cultured meat grown in a lab | Credit: Memphis Meat
Good Food Institute report details record-breaking year for the fledgling sector, amid growing interest in greener, more ethical alternatives to livestock-reared meat
Lab-grown meat enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2020, with investment soaring six-fold and dozens of new companies and food products launching across the burgeoning sector, according to the Good Food Institute (GFI).
Investment in the nascent field topped $350m - almost double the entire cumulative investment in the sector - and the number of alternative protein companies grew by 43 per cent to 76, a report by the sustainable proteins non-profit launched this week estimates. The surge in interest includes at least 20 new cultivated meat ventures, it said.
The report details a number of major milestones for the sector in 2020, including Singapore becoming the first country to officially approve the sale of lab-grown meat products, with the launch of Eat Just's cultivated chicken with its restaurant partner 1880. Meanwhile, in Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first head of state worldwide to eat lab-grown steak, produced by Israeli company Aleph Farms.
Such developments could prove hugely significant both for the sector and the planet, with consumer appetite for vegetarian diets in industrialised economies continuing to grow. The climate impact of meat is considerable, accounting for around 14.5 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to some estimates.
As such, proponents of cultured meat and plant-based proteins argue replacing some demand for traditional meat produced from livestock with new lab-cultivated products could play a key role in slashing agriculture's impact on the climate, particularly from methane-belching cows and the destruction of forests for grazing and livestock feed cultivation.
The report also highlights seafood as the next frontier for alternative proteins, amid growing concern over severely over-fished oceans and dwindling marine biodiversity. It cites more than 60 companies across the plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated platforms with alternative seafood products in their pipelines, with such firms raising $83m investment last year, four times that raised in 2019. Cultivated fish fillets, sushi-grade salmon, and lobster are all reportedly in development at present, it states.
Despite significant growth in investment, interest and innovation, however, alternative proteins still equate to less than one per cent of the size of the global meat market at present, according to the report. Challenges remain in reducing costs and making lab-grown meat alternatives price competitive, but there is no longer any need for fundamental technological breakthroughs to produce mass-market products, it states.
As such, the report paints a bullish picture for the future of the burgeoning lab-grown meat industry. "Developments throughout 2020 suggest that while the industry is in the early stages, it may be on a trajectory that will lead to price competitiveness with conventionally produced meat," it concludes. "Only then will cultivated meat fulfill its long-term promise of providing real, craveable meat without the external costs of conventional meat."
