But what exactly is cultivated meat? In a Q&A series consisting of 3 parts, we are giving the answers to the most commonly asked questions:

Read our detailed FAQ here.

What is the actual status of the cultivated meat technology/landscape and when will it be available? 

Cultivated meat exists on an experimental level, not fully on a commercial level yet. The market introduction will happen slowly, from specialised restaurants pretty soon to large-scale commercialisation after 2030. In December 2020, the first product (cultivated chicken meat) received an approval by the Singapore government to be commercialised.  

Are animals used to produce cultivated meat and how? 

The only stage where animals are necessarily involved is when cells need to be obtained.  Animal serum to grow cells is not to be used, all cultivated meat companies claim using animal-free media to grow cells. Despite mentioning the use of serum in the application for regulatory approval in  Singapore, Eat Just claims that it is now ready to use a plant-based medium. 

What kind of products are already cultivated and what else could be potentially cultivated? 

The possibilities are nearly endless. Companies also aim for less obvious products like leather and silk.

How does it work? How long does it take to produce? How much can you produce? And how scalable is it? 

The upscaling of the technology is the challenge of the coming decade. Due to the exponential growth process of cells, the prospect is that cultivating meat will be much faster than conventional meat production. 

For more details, you can read our FAQ here.