production of animal proteins by cell systems - New Harvest

Experts’ opinions (7): The most important criteria that have to be met in order
develop marketable products
• Cost competitiveness with a suitable product, and very careful attention to public relations and
advertising. Doing this wrong could be a disaster that makes GM foods appear to be "organic"
by comparison.
• Low cost, safe and nutritious. Texture and taste of ground meat should not be a problem to
duplicate, given what is already accepted by consumers.
• Products should be attractive to the senses. Additionally the products should have a proven
safety and the sustainability should be clearly demonstrated. There should also be a social
acceptance of technological food production. To my opinion, this should be achieved by a
transparent production process.
• Societal obstacles are a very important issue. Many people react with emotional aversion on
the subject of cultured meat. I will be very important to understand this aversion, and to
investigate how it can be maximized and more importantly how it can me minimized.
• There are quite a number of criteria that are very important for the success of a new product.
These are consumer acceptance, taste, continuity of production (it should be available all year
round), and it should be available at a competitive price.
• Cost and consumer acceptance. Ethical concerns might be a point to consider.
• To show the necessity to produce cultured meat and benefit for both consumer and
environment.
• The production of products with a good taste and ‘bite’,
• Comparable prices with ordinary meat, safe, tasty, healthy and having a resemblance with an
ordinary high-quality piece of meat.
• Products have to be generated that the consumer will accept and wishes to buy.
• The technology must have been developed to a large extent. Societal acceptance is very
important.
• Cost prize, equal or lower than real meat. Sustainability, significantly lower resource use per
kg produced meat. Quality, equal or better taste etc. Public acceptance, avoid “Frankenstein
food” image.
• Consumer acceptance, ‘transparent’ production process, not too expensive.
Opportunities. Man’s impact on the planet Earth has become alarmingly clear in the
past decades. Numerous reports have been produced with frightening scenarios of the
future and indeed without a change of policies there is a distinct possibility that our
planet will become inhabitable. Energy consumption and the livestock sector in particular
have been identified as the leading drivers of climate change, deforestation, pollution and
reduction of biodiversity. Simultaneously, the livestock sector is extremely important for
the agricultural economy and obviously for the human diet. Different solutions can, and
should be, developed to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, one of those
being the (partial) replacement of traditional meat with an edible product made from
animal proteins produced by cultured cells.
The possibility of making an edible meat product from cultured cells without the use of
animals may provide a change in agriculture and society at large. The infrastructure that
should accompany the implementation of such a technology is still lacking and has to be
developed. At this point in time the Netherlands is considered to be the leading country
with respect to the research on cultured meat. Although this notion may not be true, fact
is that Dutch scientists have a very good reputation if it comes to food and agricultural
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