The USDA has recently announced funding for cultivated meat with the establishment of the National Institute for Cellular Agriculture at Tufts University in the US. The Institute has “the explicit goal of developing new approaches and technologies for cultivated meat.”. They’ll also establish a curriculum for a cultivated meat course.
I wonder if Australia will follow suit anytime soon? While some worry that new technologies will mean the end of some conventional industries let’s not forget that we’ll have 10 bn people to feed by 2050 as well as growing middle classes. This means we’re going to need all the sources of protein possible for some decades to come. If we want to preserve our vital Australian Agriculture sector we need to have finger in every technology.
There are some who say that commercially viable cultivated meat is a fools dream. Well it’s certainly no easy task, but with interest from pharma companies like Merck and major food companies like Nestlé it may not be as impossible as it seems.
As they say, something is only impossible until it’s not!
