In September 2021, an article was published in The Counter which caused a stir in the alt. protein community. It strongly questioned the feasibility of cultivated meat at scale. This conclusion is rooted in a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) commissioned by Open Philanthropy to assess the scale-up economics of cultivated meat. Separately, a TEA commissioned by GFI has indicated that cost-competitive cultivated meat is possible. We must also remember that there is inherent uncertainty built into predictions made by TEAs - they make calculations grounded in currently existing technologies and thus cannot account for radical technological innovation.
These are important conversations to be having. Is it worth pursuing the innovation necessary to scale up cultivated meat if the potential upside is high enough? The purpose of this session is for you to read the discourse around the scale-up of cultivated meat and come to your own conclusions.
One thing that both sides agree on is that the TEA identifies a number of key technological bottlenecks currently preventing the scale-up of cultivated meat. This session also encourages you to browse GFI’s database of key bottlenecks across the alt. protein space, including plant-based and fermentation, and to identify the areas most applicable to you.
Core Material [~2hrs 10mins]:
Debate around the future of cultivated meat at scale:
Further Resources:
The two TEAs referenced can be found here. If you have time I would highly recommend skimming through.
Other conversations:
Next in the Alternative Proteins Technical Track
