This article features an interview with Krijn de Nood, the CEO and co-founder of cultivated meat startup Meatable.
De Nood will bespeaking atTNW Conference, which takes placeon June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam.
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As a vegetarian for the past 13 years, I have tried the whole gamut of plant-based meat substitutes.
And let me tell you, the texture and taste has come a long way since the early 2010s.
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First of all, lets state what cultivated meat is not; it is not vegan, or plant-based.
Another potential misconception around the technology is an underestimation of how complex the process is.
According to de Nood, Things go a lot slower than building a new, say, app.
Ending unnecessary suffering
Around the world, an unfathomable 70 billion land animals are slaughtered every year.
That is close to 200 million every single day.
And the worlds appetite for meat continues to grow along with population and GDPs.
By 2050, global meat consumption is predicted to increase by 70%.
In contrast, aviation is responsible for around 2.5%.
Other than carbon dioxide, meat production also contributes to methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
Given, of course, that the company manages to scale its technology.
However, when it comes to scaling up to larger bioreactors, the process is very similar.
One of the key aspects in scaling production is achieving efficiency without sacrificing quality and safety.
For example, cell densities are very important.
So if you have a litre of bioreactor capacity, how many grams of meat can you cultivate?
The second one is, what is the doubling time?
So how long does it take before the cells to double themselves?
And then the third one thats very important is that we start with stem cells.
Stem cells are not as tasty as muscle and fat cells.
So we need to turn them into that.
How many days does it take for that process?
Ten years on, what has happened to the price tag?
Why Singapore?
Indeed, in April 2022, the Dutch government awarded 60 million to develop a national cellular agriculture ecosystem.
Furthermore, the House of Representatives voted to allow tastings of cultured meat in controlled configs earlier this year.
Are consumers ready?
Well, apparently, it depends mostly on age.
If you talk to people about 20 to 30 and below, its a no brainer.
That is why I am very positive about consumer perception.
Story byLinnea Ahlgren
Linnea is the senior editor at TNW, having joined in April 2023.
Dabbles in gaming and fitness wearables.
But first, coffee.
