Growing cultured meat using by-products from livestock and arable farms could offer producers new income streams and help businesses become more sustainable in the long-term.
Despite concerns that lab-grown meat could threaten traditional livestock farms around the world, a two-year study by researchers in the UK said some farmers could actually benefit from the development of the sector.
Published by the Royal Agricultural University, the report, Culture Clash? What cultured meat could mean for UK farming, said agricultural by-products such as leftovers from rapeseed oil production and blood from meat production — both of which are high in amino acids, an expensive ingredient needed in growing meat — could help make cultured meat cheaper to produce, whilst giving farmers an alternative income.
“Some places around the world have banned cultured meat in the name of protecting farming,” saids Tom MacMillan, professor of total policy and strategy at the RAU. “But instead of seeing this as ‘all or nothing’, we explored where there could be win-wins.
“Building bridges with farmers is certainly in the cultured meat companies’ interests, as some are starting to see,” he said. “More surprisingly, we found that keeping the door open may serve farmers better too.”
As well as analysing social media posts, the research team worked with nine farms across the UK to understand what producers think about cultured meat and how it could affect them in practice.
Compared with challenges like climate change, trade deals and market volatility, the threat of competition from cultured meat felt like a “slow burn” that they could react to in time, the farmers said.
“Cultured meat, along with other meat and dairy alternatives, may drive substantial restructuring in farming, but on a timeframe that businesses can potentially plan for,” the researchers explained.
“The technology may even hold opportunities for some farmers, creating new markets for raw materials, adding value to current waste streams or even producing cultured meat on farms.”
The researchers said existing farm infrastructure could mean some businesses were particularly well-suited for meat cultivation.
One fruit producer they interviewed had processing facilities and an established supply chain that could make them particularly well-suited to producing cultivated meat, they said.
Other opportunities for farmers include creating markets for high-value ‘real meat’, as well as markets for supplying animal cells and other raw materials needed for cultured meat production, they added.
“This report offers synergies and a future route for bridging divides between livestock farmers and cultured meat producers,” said Guy Poppy, Deputy Executive Chair of BBSRC and UKRI Food Champion, who funded the study.
“Importantly, the call for greater communication and discussion will be important for many innovations being developed to help make food production and farming be a solution to climate change as opposed to a major contributor to emissions and climate change.”
What is cultured meat?
Cultured or lab-grown meat is produced from live animal cells growth in a broth containing nutrients and other ingredients that cells need to grow, including amino acids and glucose.
The efficiency and cost of culture meat production heavily depends on growth medium, which accounts for about a third of production costs. Finding cheaper ingredients for the broth is a key element in improving the viability of lab-grown meat.
