Dutch scientist Dr Mark Post unveiled the first cell-based beef burger at an event in London on 5 August 2013 – almost ten years ago.
Post’s burger took more than two years and €250,000 to make.
At the time, Post predicted that it could take between 10 and 20 years to bring cell-based meat down in price and onto store shelves.
A decade later:
A cultivated chicken skewer is available in Singapore for just SGD 14 (approx. $10.50).
Dutch startup Meatable say that they are able to produce a cultivated sausage in just eight days.
Consumers in the US can now eat cell-based chicken, after Good Meat and Upside Foods received regulatory approval in June.
Israel’s Aleph Farms have applied to Swiss regulators to sell cultivated beef – the first application of its kind in Europe.
More than 150 companies worldwide are working on cell-based meat and seafood – around 50 of which are in Europe.
European governments are boosting support to fund R&D, with the Netherlands announcing a record €60 million last year and the UK announcing a £12 million research centre in April.
Europe’s celll-based meat companies saw private investments jump 30% to €120 million last year.
Peer-reviewed research has found that cell-based meat made using renewable energy could reduce climate emissions by up to 92%, reduce air pollution by up to 94%, and use up to 90% less land compared with conventional beef.
Alex Mayers, managing director at the GFI, said: "Cultivated meat is very much a European innovation. Its foundations were laid by French and Dutch scientists, and this week marks 10 years since the Netherlands’ Dr Mark Post travelled to London to present his pioneering beef burger to the world”.
He continued: "The progress made over the past decade is remarkable – but we’re still a long way off making this sustainable option available to everyone. With other parts of the world beginning to race ahead, the EU and national governments must invest in cultivated meat to ensure its benefits are felt here in Europe."
Richard McGeown, the chef who cooked Mark Post’s cell-based beef burger in 2013, commented: "It's incredible to think in the space of a decade, cultivated meat has moved from the tiny prototype I worked on to become a global industry and a food people can enjoy on two continents, recognised and endorsed by renowned chefs like José Andrés and Dominique Crenn”.
"We've only scratched the surface of what we're able to do with cultivated meat and I'm very excited to see further progress over the next decade.”
.png)