The Protein Revolution: From Lab to Fork

I recently went to an event where the host proudly announced that the chicken samosa that we were about to eat were "plant-based." As I bit into one I couldn't help but wonder: Was I tasting the future of food, or just another overhyped tech trend?

More like Generative food in the era of Generative AI.

This experience got me thinking about the broader implications of cultivated food. It's not just about guilt-free chicken samosas anymore. From lab-grown burgers to medicinal berries, the landscape of food production is changing rapidly. And it's reshaping entire industries and challenging our notions of what constitutes "real" food.

So, let's dive into this brave new world of petri dish cuisine and explore what it means for consumers, businesses, and the planet. Trust me, by the end of this blog, you'll be looking at your dinner plate in a whole new light.

Why cars are blamed and not our dinner plates?

Why are people going crazy over cultivated food? There has to be a big reason for people backing such initiativates right?

According to FAO data, 14.5% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to livestock farming as compared to transportation which emits 16%. And when it comes to climate change we are quick to blame the cars and not our dinner plates!

So it is clear we have to do something about our dinner plates to reduce emissions.

From $215,000 Burgers to Everyday Meals

Remember when the idea of a lab-grown burger seemed like something out of a sci-fi novel? Well, we've come a long way since that first $215,000 patty made headlines a decade ago. Today, the cultivated meat industry is sizzling hot, and McKinsey is predicting it could be worth $25 billion by 2030.

But let's break down what we're really talking about here. Cultivated meat isn't a freaky food invented by mad scientists by fluke. It's a real animal tissue grown from cells in a nutrient broth. Think of it as a meat nursery, where instead of raising a whole animal, we're just growing the parts we want to eat.

The process is something like this:

  1. Take a small biopsy of animal muscle or fat stem cells
  2. Multiply these cells in a nutrient-rich broth
  3. Seed the mature cells onto a 3D scaffold
  4. Magic, this creates a piece of meat

It sounds simple, but as with all groundbreaking technologies, there are hurdles to overcome. Price is still a big issue. While we've moved on from six-figure burgers, a lab-grown scotch egg can cost you tens of pounds.

There's also the ethical dilemma of using fetal bovine serum in the production process. It's great for cell growth but not so great for the "cruelty-free" marketing angle. Thankfully, progress is being made on this front, with some recently approved products using serum-free methods.

Despite these challenges, the industry is optimistic. As Prof David Kaplan from Tufts University points out, "Over the past 10 years, the costs for the process have been reduced by orders of magnitude." In other words, we're getting better at this, and fast.

Something's Fishy: Lab-Grown Seafood and Ocean Conservation

As someone who loves a good sushi roll, I've always had a nagging guilt about the state of our oceans. Overfishing is a massive problem, with the UN estimating a 28 million-tonne gap between seafood demand and supply. And let's not even get started on the plastic and heavy metal contamination in our fish. It's enough to make you lose your appetite.

Enter lab-grown fish. The EU is pouring €7 million into a project called FEASTS (Fostering European Cellular Agriculture for Sustainable Transition Solutions). Their goal is simple: develop cell lines for producing salmon, sea bass, oysters, and other seafood.

Dr. Frederico Castelo Ferreira from the University of Lisbon, who's leading this endeavor, explains, "Genetics does matter. There are some variants that have more muscle, this is valid not only for cows but for fish." In other words, they're not just growing fish cells; they're trying to grow the best fish cells.

Imagine a world where we can enjoy sushi without worrying about mercury levels or depleting ocean stocks. It sounds almost too good to be true!

Brewing Revolution: Lab-Grown Coffee and Chocolate

Picture this: It's 2050, and you're sipping your morning coffee. The rich aroma fills your nostrils, the caffeine kicks in, but there's something different. This coffee never saw a plantation, never felt the sun on its beans. Welcome to the world of lab-grown coffee.

It might sound far-fetched, but with climate change threatening coffee production (some estimates suggest half of coffee-growing land could be unproductive by 2050), scientists are looking for alternatives. Dr. Emilia Nordlund from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland explains, "If we want to have these products in future, it might be that we're not able to cultivate them."

VTT is working on lab-grown plant products, including coffee, cocoa, and even exotic berries with potential medicinal properties. They've already produced "cell coffee" - a uniform cell mass that's dried, powdered, and roasted. The verdict from a professional tasting panel? "It was not the best coffee, but atleast its a good start.

The process for growing plant cells is quicker and simpler than for animal cells, taking just a week or two. But it's not without its challenges. The cells need to be fed with sugar, which still needs to be grown somewhere. And the environmental benefits depend on using renewable energy to power the bioreactors.

The pathways leads to Culture wars!

All the above stuff looks like a plot from a hollywood sci-fi film from the future, but this is happening now and it can end up becoming a reality by 2050. Currently we are in a world where we transitioned from everyday things (clothes, house, transport etc) that we use natural to man made, this time it is food that will be impacted and transformed

This is easier said then done, a big culture war is out there. So what are they pathways if we want to really cut down emissions due to livestock farming and meat production:

  1. Become Vegan
  2. Lab grown meat

Becoming vegan looks more like a movement created by animal loving activist and the basis of this was no harm to lives. But by becoming vegan you can really cut down the emissions. Then comes the argument, I go to the gym, what about my proteins, I want to be pumped up and look muscular, hence they just reject being Vegan.

But, things are changing!

Take Gigi Balsamico, for example. This vegan powerhouse has been dominating strongman competitions across the eastern United States for the past two years. We're talking about events where she dead-lifts 315 pounds and drags Chevy Silverados (with food truck trailers attached, no less). And she's been doing all this while following a vegan diet for 11 years.

Balsamico isn't alone. There's an entire team of vegan strength competitors called PlantBuilt, showing the world that plant power is real and formidable.

With the Lab grown meat, the debate is to another level.

If the meat industry and governments lobby and discard vegan saying you cannot meet your protein requirements and vegan is just a narrative, adoption of lab grown meet has other cultural issues.

It's clear that for some, the idea of moving away from traditional meat consumption is seen as a threat to their way of life. This resistance isn't just about taste preferences; it's wrapped up in ideas of masculinity, tradition, and resistance to climate change policies.

This cultural resistance presents a significant challenge for the alternative protein industry. It's not enough to create products that taste good and are environmentally friendly; they also need to navigate a complex sociopolitical landscape.

So what can the government do to support the alternate protein industry? As this has almost 14.5% emissions due to livestock farming.

The EV Connection: Can Government Support Jumpstart Alt Proteins?

If the alternative protein industry wants to scale up, it needs robust funding from various sources – including the public sector. We can learn how this happened with EVs also and similar playbook can be followed for Alt proteins.

At first glance, this comparison might seem a bit far-fetched. After all, what do cars have to do with burgers? But dig a little deeper, and you'll see some fascinating similarities:

  1. One-to-one replacement: Both EVs and alt proteins are designed to replace existing products without requiring major behavioral changes from consumers.
  2. Environmental impact: Both industries promise significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
  3. Initial skepticism: Both faced (and still face) resistance from traditionalists and skeptics.
  4. Need for infrastructure: Just as EVs require charging stations, alt proteins need investment in production facilities and supply chains.

The key argument here is that government support played a crucial role in helping the EV industry take off. Could similar support do the same for alternative proteins?

Let's look at some numbers:

  • In 2022, the alternative protein industry received $635 million in global government support.
  • Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has put only $124 million towards subsidizing alt proteins.
  • In contrast, the USDA gave at least $59 billion in various subsidies to livestock operators from 1995 to 2023.

That's quite a disparity, isn't it? Proponents argue that more public investment could drive R&D, help scale manufacturing, and signal to private capital markets that this industry is worth taking seriously.

But here's where it gets tricky: alternative proteins, much like EVs before them, have become caught up in a culture war.

Bottom Line

As I finished my lab-grown chicken nugget at that dinner party, I couldn't help but reflect on the complex journey ahead for the alternative protein industry. It's clear that this is more than just a food trend; it's a potential solution to some of our most pressing environmental challenge.

But it's also clear that the road ahead is far from smooth. The industry faces technical challenges in improving taste and reducing costs, economic hurdles in scaling up production, and perhaps most difficult of all, cultural resistance to changing deeply ingrained eating habits.

The comparison to the EV industry offers both hope and a cautionary tale. With the right support and messaging, alternative proteins could indeed become as commonplace as electric cars are becoming. But it will likely be a long and bumpy road, filled with setbacks.

So the next time you're faced with a menu choice between a traditional burger and a lab-grown alternative, remember: you're not just choosing a meal. You're casting a vote to reduce emissions!