The sale of cultured meat is now permitted in Europe – but don't get the fine china out just yet. The first dishes are reserved exclusively for pets.
Our furry friends can now legally eat farmed chickens from Meatly, a London-based startup.
The company announced on Monday that British regulators had approved the sale of Product.
From With the green light, the UK becomes the first European country to commercialise lab-grown meat.
“It’s the beginning of a viable and sustainable alternative to traditional dog food,” Owen Ensor, CEO and founder of Meatly, told TNW.
This sustainability comes from moving the farm into the laboratory.
Meatly's model
Meat production consumes enormous natural resources and leaves a significant carbon footprint.
Meatly plans to soften these blows to our planet. The startup first takes cells from a single chicken egg. Only one sample is needed for the entire production.
The extracts are then cultured in large containers where temperature and pH are controlled. Nutrients are added to ensure the cells grow big and strong.
Eventually it is used to make pet food that resembles the products on supermarket shelves.
A similar process has been used by several European startups, from Bluu Seafood from Germany to Meatable from the Netherlands. But their Delicacies typically target the human appetite.
Meatly has good reasons to focus on our four-legged friends. One of them is the impact on sustainability: it is estimated that pets consume 20% of the world's meat and fish.
Another advantage of Meatly’s model is the route to market.
In Europe, it is difficult to approve meat from cultured products for human consumption and sale. The thinking goes that there are fewer regulatory hurdles for animal feed. But will their owners buy the products?
Commercialization of cultured meat
We asked TNW senior editor Linnea Ahlgren, the owner of a Cavapoo puppy, if she would buy cultured pet food.
“When choosing between cultured meat and meat from a slaughterhouse, the decision is a no-brainer as long as the former is considered safe,” she said.
“Our dog does incredibly well on insect-based food, but for breeds that can't tolerate it, or for cats that absolutely need the taurine in meat to be healthy, it could be a good option.”
Meatly is currently refining this option. The startup plans to launch samples of commercially available pet food this year, with mass production set to begin within three years.
Although size and cost hurdles still need to be overcome, optimism is growing at Ensor.
“We look forward to seeing innovators grow in this space and helping to bring cultured meat to the masses,” he said. “And not just for our four-legged friends!”
