This is a link post for the Alternative Protein Project by the Cambridge University Alt. Protein Society in collaboration with the Good Food Institute.
What if, rather than trying to mimic meat using plants and microbes, we could produce actual animal muscle and fat without having to raise and slaughter the whole animal? Advances in stem cell technology have given rise to just this: cultivated meat (sometimes referred to as cultured, clean or lab-grown meat).
This session introduces the basics of cultivated meat - genuine animal meat or seafood that can replicate the sensory and nutritional profile of conventionally produced meat because it’s comprised of the same cell types arranged in the same three-dimensional structure as animal muscle tissue. What are the main components of cultivated meat production and when might we see it on our plates?
Core Material [~2hrs]:
How We Could Eat Real Meat Without Harming Animals - Isha Datar TED Talk [Video, 12 mins]
Scientific, sustainability and regulatory challenges of cultured meat - Post et al. (2020) [Paper - feel free to skim/skip up to the section on Regulation, 25 mins]
Further Resources:
Cultivated meat - Good Food Institute [Webpage, 3 mins]
The science of cultivated meat - Good Food Institute [Webpage, 25 mins]
MIT Cellular Agriculture Course (these videos have quite a heavy technical focus but are great resources if you are interested in a deep dive into any particular aspect of cultivated meat production)
Cell lines for cultured meat & fermentation & Slides - MIT Cell Ag [Lecture, 06:34 to 46:23, 40 mins]
Media formulation for cultured meat & fermentation & Slides - MIT Cell Ag [Lecture, 26:08 to 1:20:58, 55 mins]
Scaffolds for cultured meat & Slides - MIT Cell Ag [Lecture, 00:00 to 44:46, 45 mins]
Bioreactors for cultured meat & fermentation & Slides - MIT Cell Ag [Lecture, 10:36 to 33:47, 23 mins]
Downstream processing & Slides - MIT Cell Ag [Lecture, 02:00 to 11:00, 9 mins]
Other resources:
Cellular agriculture in the UK: a review - Stephens & Ellis (2020) [Paper, 45 mins]
The Red to Green Podcast - Season 1: Cultured Meat and Cellular Agriculture (2020)
