Cultivated meat could add up to €85 billion to the EU economy and create up to 90,000 jobs by 2050

A new analysis carried out by the systems change company Systemiq and supported by the Good Food Institute Europe has found that – with the right support – cultivated meat could make a significant contribution to the EU’s economy.

The report analyses a range of future scenarios to examine the impact of cultivated meat on economic growth, jobs, and the environment across the EU by 2050. It finds: 

• The EU’s cultivated meat market could be worth €20-85 billion in new domestic and export markets.
• The sector could create up to 90,000 new highly-skilled jobs in the EU – although the true number could be higher as estimates suggest that for every job directly created, another one will be created elsewhere in the economy.
• Globally, the cultivated meat market has the potential to reach a value of €510 billion by 2050, with the Asia-Pacific region being the main driver of this growth.

The analysis finds that a scaled-up future cultivated meat industry could deliver significant environmental benefits by unlocking a wider market for plant-based meat – developing ingredients such as cultivated fat that will improve the taste and texture of plant-based products. This could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 3.5 gigatons by 2050 (up to 17% of total food system emissions), cut demand for global agricultural land by one-third and conserve 225 million cubic metres of water – equivalent to the annual freshwater use of Cyprus.

However, the report points out that the sector still has a long way to go, and realising these benefits will depend on several factors:

Products need to meet expectations around taste and price, consumers must have strong confidence in cultivated meat’s safety and there must be more public awareness about its climate, nature and food security benefits.

Globally, the industry requires €55 billion annually between 2024 and 2050 to deliver on its full potential, with €5 billion needed from the EU.

Governments should retain the existing clear path to market for cultivated meat products including regulatory approvals based on scientific evidence.