Cultivated meat

Your guide to the science, business and policy of cultivated meat in Europe.

Cultured meat bacon
Photo credit: Uncommon
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What is cultivated meat?

Cultivated meat aims to deliver chicken, pork, beef and seafood that is indistinguishable from the meat we eat today, using cultivators (like the fermentors used for brewing beer) instead of by farming animals.

Why do we need cultivated meat?

Compared with conventional meat production, cultivated meat has the potential to be far less resource-intensive, decreasing methane emissions, deforestation, biodiversity loss, water use, water pollution, antibiotic resistance, and foodborne illnesses.

A recent peer-reviewed study by CE Delft – the first ever to be based on data from cultivated meat companies – found that, compared with farming animals, cultivating meat from cells could:

  • Cut the climate impact of meat by up to 92%.
  • Reduce air pollution by up to 94%.
  • Use up to 90% less land.

This is compared to an ambitious scenario for conventional animal agriculture in 2030 – where farmers manage to cut the carbon footprint of meat by 15% (for beef), 26% (for pork) and 53% (for chicken). Compared with current average environmental impacts, the benefits of cultivated meat are even greater. And if we use the freed-up land for rewilding or carbon sequestration, the positive climate impacts could be greater still.

Cultivated meat is also made in clean environments without animals or exposure to faecal pathogens, and no antibiotics are needed – so these foods help to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases, prevent foodborne illnesses, and preserve life-saving antibiotics for human medicine.

Cultivated meat will expand the options available to consumers, providing the meat so many people desire, just produced in a more sustainable, secure and just way.

How is cultivated meat made?

Cultivating meat is similar to growing plants from cuttings in a greenhouse, which provides warmth, fertile soil, water and nutrients. This new method of meat production enables the natural process of cell growth, but in a more efficient environment. 

How cultivated meat is made diagram

When will cultivated meat be available in Europe?

In the summer of 2023, Israeli startup Aleph Farms applied to Swiss and UK regulators to sell their cultivated beef, and other companies have since submitted applications to sell cultivated meat in both countries. In July 2024, French startup Gourmey submitted the first-ever application to sell cultivated meat (in the form of foie gras) in the EU.  

Regulators are now undertaking thorough and evidence-based assessments of the safety and nutritional value of cultivated meat, and the approval processes are expected to take at least 18 months.

This means it is likely to be mid- 2025 at the earliest before cultivated meat may become available in Switzerland and the UK, and 2026 before it arrives in the EU.

Cultivated meat has already been approved for sale in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States, so the fact that it has passed rigorous approval processes in those countries suggests it can play a role in a safe and sustainable future for Europe’s food system. However, cultivated meat remains at an early stage in its development, and still requires significant investment from governments into research and infrastructure to support product development and scale-up before it can become widely available.

How can we advance cultivated meat in Europe?

The world’s first cultivated beef burger was unveiled in London in 2013. Since then, startups across Europe have made incredible progress in developing cultivated meat – but it will take government investment to truly transform meat production and maximise the societal benefits of cultivated meat. 

Public sector investment in open-access research can address foundational issues and support the growth of a whole sector, rather than just one company. Just like they fund research and development into green energy, governments interested in building a sustainable food system should fund open-access research into plant-based and cultivated meat, and other sustainable proteins. 

Research by CE Delft shows that by 2030, cultivated meat’s production costs could fall to just €5.73/£4.80 per kg. To achieve this, both the public and private sectors will need to invest significant sums into research and development to overcome existing challenges – and CE Delft’s research shows that enhancing taste, reducing prices, and delivering key infrastructure will be crucial. 

GFI Europe’s own market research suggests developing species-specific research toolkits, scaling and optimising cultivated meat inputs, and educating consumers will also be crucial.


Why is it called cultivated meat?

Many terms have been used to describe meat grown from cells – from “slaughter-free meat” to “cultured meat” and “lab-grown meat”. “Lab-grown meat” is an especially misleading term. At scale, cultivated meat is produced in cultivators, in a facility similar to a brewery. All sorts of food, from beer to bread, begins in a food lab – but we don’t call cornflakes “lab-created cornflakes”. 

Cultivating meat can be thought of in the same way as cultivating plants in a greenhouse, where plant cuttings are given warmth, fertile soil, water and nutrients to help them to grow. A cultivator is what cultivated meat grows in. This is a reactor which facilitates the same biological process that happens inside an animal by providing warmth and the basic elements needed to build muscle: water, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

To achieve the incredible potential of cultivated meat to help tackle the climate crisis, restore nature, protect public health and improve food security, consumers must understand and embrace it. In 2019, GFI began using the term “cultivated” following an extensive research project to develop a narrative and decide on a term that was neutral, understandable and appealing to consumers.

Research into the best terminology across key European languages published by GFI Europe in 2022 also found that ‘cultivated meat’ is also the most appropriate terminology to when writing in and translating into German, French, Italian and Spanish. For the project, media analyses, representative surveys and focus group discussions were carried out in each of the respective countries.

Photo: Upside Foods

The science of cultivated meat

Learn more about the science and technology behind cultivated meat – and the white spaces where more research is needed to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, secure and just food system.

The business of cultivated meat

Europe’s cultivated meat sector is developing rapidly, with companies producing everything from beef burgers to foie gras.

In 2023, European cultivated meat companies raised at least €116 million, more than the total raised in all other regions combined. This funding is critical to help scale up the sector, building the necessary infrastructure and supply chains to produce cultivated meat at scale.

Photo credit: Aleph Farms
Blue Nalu cultured fish
Photo: Bluu Seafood

The policy of cultivated meat

Cultivated meat needs government support and approval before it can deliver on its potential to help tackle the climate and ecological emergency, protect public health and enhance food security.

GFI Europe advocates public investment in cultivated meat R&D, evidence-based regulation, and transparent labelling rules to help consumers make more sustainable choices.

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