The adoption of cultivated meat offers solutions to critical global challenges, such as feeding a growing population, reducing mass animal slaughter, lowering the risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks and making more land available for ecosystem restoration. Yet, while the industry focuses on a vision of the future, it often overlooks the path to getting there.

Public acceptance and regulatory approval remain significant hurdles, and key questions about a fair transition from traditional meat production are still unresolved. Oliver Tufft, founder of Red Tail – a project aimed at empowering farmers to produce cultivated meat and transform conventional agriculture – explores how farmers can play a pivotal role in this evolving landscape.

Farmers are integral to our food system, shaping landscapes and rural communities. However, early industry narratives have often alienated them, presenting cultivated meat as a replacement for agriculture. This has led to bans in places like Florida and Italy, with authorities citing concerns for farmers. The industry must shift from box-ticking exercises to genuine engagement with the agricultural sector.

Farmers’ expertise, including sourcing food-grade inputs, valorising waste outputs and utilising existing infrastructure can reduce costs and support a circular production system. By partnering with farmers, the industry can decentralise production, enhance food security and build local supply chains, ensuring cultivated meat supports a wider array of consumers and aligns with public and regulatory needs.

🚜 Why do farmers need the industry?

A report by AT Kearney predicts that by 2040, only 40% of the meat industry will rely on traditional agriculture, with the rest split between cultivated meat and vegan replacements. For farmers already facing volatile markets, reduced subsidies and unpredictable weather, this shift should sound alarm bells.

Farming, a traditionally cash-poor, asset-rich industry, is vulnerable to uncertain cash flows, especially as harvest failures become more common. On-farm cultivated meat production offers farmers a chance to diversify, providing more reliable production, shorter harvest cycles and access to a rapidly growing market.

As consumers demand ethical, sustainable meat alternatives, farmers can meet this need while using less land. With government subsidies shifting toward ecosystem services, farmers have the option to restore their land and generate revenue from emerging natural capital markets, if they are able to decouple income from intensive land use. As the cultivated meat industry grows, early engagement offers farmers a chance to secure their livelihoods.

Practical steps to integration

While the benefits of integrating farmers into the cultivated meat sector are clear, understanding how they can practically participate is essential. There are several tangible ways farmers can actively engage in and contribute to the growth of cultivated meat that would benefit the industry and themselves.

On-farm bioreactor facilities:

One of the most direct ways for farmers to engage is by establishing on-farm cultivated meat production facilities. Cultivated meat companies can collaborate with farmers to install bioreactors and the necessary infrastructure for producing cultivated meat directly on-site. Farmers could repurpose existing barns, outbuildings or underutilised spaces to house small to medium-scale cultivated meat facilities, lowering capex by reducing the need for new construction.

This approach leverages infrastructure that is already in place, minimising financial burden while allowing farmers to use idle assets for profitable purposes. At the same time, farmers can expand their operations without significant upfront costs, as the existing structures can be adapted rather than replaced.

Supplying inputs for growth media:

Farmers can also play a crucial role by supplying agricultural inputs for the growth media used in cultivated meat production. Currently, cultivated meat growth media is heavily reliant on costly inputs from the pharmaceutical industry. By engaging farmers to grow specific crops that contribute to culture media, cultivated meat companies can reduce their dependence on expensive sources and develop more cost-effective supply chains.

Contract farming for cultivated meat:

Another way farmers can get involved is through contract farming. This approach has parallels to existing farming models, such as contract pig finishing or poultry production, where farmers raise animals on behalf of larger processors. In this model, farmers would use their land and facilities to produce cultivated meat for a larger company that would provide the necessary bioreactors, cells and media. This model allows farmers to participate without the heavy capex required to purchase all the necessary equipment.

Farmers get the benefit of predictable, stable income, while companies avoid the high capital outlays associated with building entirely new production facilities. This model could be particularly attractive for smaller or mid-sized farms looking for low-risk ways to diversify.

Partnering in local supply chains:

Farmers are experienced in managing logistics and distribution, which cultivated meat companies can tap into to bring products to market more quickly and cost-effectively. Instead of developing entirely new supply chains, cultivated meat companies can partner with local farmers to handle transportation and logistics.

By relying on local supply chains, cultivated meat companies can also reduce transportation costs, improve efficiency and decrease their carbon footprint. Farmers benefit by playing an active role in the emerging cultivated meat market, using existing networks to distribute products and increase their income.

Developing cooperatives for shared investment:

The high capex of bioreactors and cultivated meat infrastructure can be daunting for individual farmers. A cooperative model would allow farmers to pool their resources to invest in shared infrastructure. By spreading the costs of bioreactors and other specialised equipment, farmers can enter the cultivated meat market without shouldering the full financial burden individually.

The future of food production is at a pivotal moment and the integration of farmers into the cultivated meat industry is crucial for its success. As the world seeks more ethical, efficient and sustainable ways of producing food, the cultivated meat industry offers a compelling solution to many global challenges. However, it cannot succeed in isolation. Farmers, who have long been the backbone of food production, possess the knowledge, resources and infrastructure necessary to support this transition.

For farmers, this partnership provides new opportunities amid the growing challenges of traditional agriculture. Cultivated meat offers more stable income, reduced land use and access to a fast-growing market, while allowing farmers to restore their land and benefit from natural capital markets. A cooperative approach between farmers and cultivated meat is not just mutually beneficial – it’s essential for building a sustainable, equitable future for food production.

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