As the environmental and economic costs of conventional meat production become ever clearer, the shift towards alt-proteins isn't just a trend – it's a necessity. With the benefits of these innovations well understood, the question now is how we can accelerate their integration into our food systems. In this opinion piece, Yvonne Armitage, principle strategic programme manager at UK CPI, delves into the critical role that cell-based meat can play in protecting our planet, while also driving economic growth and ensuring the resilience of our food supply chains.

Even a cursory glance down aisles in our local supermarket should offer a window into how much the food industry has changed over the past decade or so. The shelves are now full of plant-based produce aimed at providing alternative options to traditionally produced goods which contain meat or dairy.

This tectonic shift is in part down to the enormous changes in our society and culture as people have become more aware and mindful of environmental and animal welfare issues.

But there are other key factors at play. Governments across the globe are under pressure to deliver policies to address the problem of climate change. The food industry, in its current form, is said to be responsible for 26% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally.

This means there are significant incentives for governments and investors to initiate change in the way we protect our food security as well as tackle this issue which is already impacting the planet.

And, there are plenty of examples which demonstrate the level of financial support governments are providing for novel food production, including cultivated meat, in order to alternative solutions for protein production in particular. For example, earlier this year, the Netherlands announced €65 million in funding for cultivated meat.

In 2020, Singapore became the first country to approve the sale of cultivated meat (chicken), making headlines globally. This was followed by Israel giving pre-approval for cultivated beef and the US.

This has paved the way for countries that are supporting cultivated meat production through research financing to start to consider their policy positions, including the UK, with the Israeli company Aleph Farms having submitted an application to the Food Standards Agency for approval of its cultivated beef.

At CPI we have received approval from the local authority and coveted FSSC22000 certification which allows us to produce foodstuffs such as meat alternatives and other food ingredients to food grade standards, which enables us to support the burgeoning number of new and young companies actively developing products for these markets

While conventional food production must adapt and become more sustainable, many examples of novel food production have the potential to reduce the environmental impact by up to 45% due to their sustainable production methods, using less land than traditional animal rearing for instance.

However, it is those environmental concerns which have placed the novel food industry as the fastest-growing area of food production.

From 2010 to 2022, alternative protein companies raised $14.2 billion and the investments made in this industry doubled nearly every year during that period.

Alternative protein-based food markets in Europe and the UK are also projected to grow to £6.8 billion by 2025. For the EU and UK, current meat alternatives (£1.3 billion) and dairy alternatives (£2.7 billion) represent only 0.7% and 3% of the total meat and dairy market share respectively, which indicates a huge opportunity for further market growth. Most of these are plant-based products, but the development of products from fermentation are gaining traction fast.

An even smaller percentage of that is taken up by cultivated meat specifically.

In the UK, there are now at least 100 companies which have a business line in alternative protein fermentation, including major food companies.

These figures suggest one thing, the market with high potential for growth in the food industry certainly includes the fermenter, which has the advantage of being fully contained in production and does not suffer from the vagaries of the weather.

And, it’s not as if we can say consumers aren’t willing to shift towards cultivated products. A survey conducted by the Food Standards Agency earlier this year found that over 30% of those surveyed would be willing to try cultivated meat.

All this sounds very promising but it’s fair to say nobody has quite cracked the code of getting cultivated meat onto our shelves and into our mouths in a significant way and at a cost that is palatable.

That’s because there are significant barriers preventing consumers from regularly seeing 'two-for-one' offers on cultivated meat burgers.

The reasons for this are primarily down to the fact that cultivated meat is a young and emerging market. The potential for growth is there, but the methods needed to commercialise this kind of produce at the scales needed are not yet available at high volumes. But as with any new technology work is ongoing to design new processes to de-risk scale up.

At a time when people's pockets are shallow and a cost-of-living crisis continues to blight economies, it is imperative that we find new solutions in order to stimulate economies and provide cost-effective produce for consumers.

In the northeast of England, there are plenty of projects underway which are racing towards this solution.

A number of university spinouts and industry leaders are now developing new engineered protein materials to ensure they can ultimately produce cultivated meat on an industrial scale.

Producing cultivated meat involves four key components: isolated muscle and fat cells from an animal; a culture medium to grow the cells; a scaffold to mimic the structural properties of muscle and other components of meat; and a bioreactor for cellular growth.

The aim is to generate products that have more cost parity and can become part of everyday diet rather than a one-off curiosity that provides consumers with choices.

Governments, innovators, academics and businesses alike recognise there is lot riding on the success of cell-based meat production in order to contribute to food security and mitigating climate change.

It is obvious we need innovation to ensure successful products form part of the solution to some of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

One thing is clear, there are huge challenges ahead for cultivated meat producers but there is also huge potential for business and benefits for consumers.