production of animal proteins by cell systems - New Harvest

Experts’ opinions (8): The role of companies in the development of cultured
meat
• Probably not until the risk has been mitigated substantially.
• Companies may invest but not until proof of principle is established by research funded by
governments or foundations. I think private commercial funding at this stage may be less
likely than public or foundation funding. Once proof of principle is established, it seems likely
that private commercial funding will play an important role.
• Not in this first phase. There is still much basic science to be done. I believe the first phase
has to be public.
• At the moment I do not think that companies will invest in research on in vitro meat. The
product is simply too immature yet, first a number of uncertainties need to be answered.
• I would strongly suggest a private-public association. However, I consider that public
institutions should have a key role in the launching of the project. In the second phase, private
companies should join the project.
• I favor development on a public-private basis.
• At first companies will not invest in cultured meat. It is important to show that the technology
is feasible.
• Companies will not invest before the technology is mature to allow very moderate R&D
investment costs and before they see that governments will through legislation make a market
for this. The FAO has already articulated favorable opinions about the concept, and they sent a
high-ranking representative to the first international workshop on in vitro meat production
held in Norway in 2008. They will probably continue to support this vision.
• It will take some time before this technology will become profitable, until this time public
funding is preferable.
Spin-off. It is anticipated that research on cultured meat will have a significant spin-off,
primarily for the biomedical industry. Four areas of spin-off can be discerned: 1)
Generation of stem cells from pigs (and other farm animals); 2) Production of tissue
culture media that do not contain animal products; 3) Increased knowledge on aspects of
tissue engineering; 4) Specific know-how on (industrial scale) bioreactors.
Ad 1) Generation of porcine stem cells. The generation of stem cell lines from farm
animal species also has the potential of generating genetically modified animals. Murine
embryonic stem cells can be used to introduce specific gene modifications in mice and, as
a result, numerous genes have been altered in mice. This has been a powerful method to
help understand the functions of many genes and in 2007 the Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine was awarded to the discoverers of these techniques. Gene targeting is
currently not common in mammals other than in mice, but the development of stem cell
lines from farm animal species could facilitate to create pigs or cows with targeted gene
modifications. Stem cells from farm animals can therefore be used for the generation of
transgenic animals with improved production traits or disease resistance. Similarly
transgenic farm animals, particularly pigs, can be extremely useful large animal model
systems for human medicine. The pig is a more useful model for human medicine than
the currently predominantly used mouse models, because pigs and humans have a
comparative anatomy and physiology. For instance, the organ dimensions and life-span
of pigs are more similar to those of man than those of rodents. It is therefore anticipated
that porcine stem cells can be used to generate genetic models for human diseases. In
39