By 2040, 60 percent of meat will no longer come from animals, experts predict

By 2040, more than half of the meat we eat will no longer come from farmed animals. According to a new report published by GovGrant, a United Kingdom intellectual property specialist, this will be in the form of vegan or lab-grown proteins.

GovGrant’s report notes that companies are expected to continue to make progress and break down more barriers related to vegan and cultured meats over the next few years. Specifically, by 2040, GovGrant predicts that cultured meat will make up 35 percent of the world’s meat, and vegan meat substitutes will make up 25 percent — leaving less room for the way we traditionally produce meat.

“Because there is such a large potential demand for lab-grown meat, it will only encourage companies to further innovate and perfect their products,” Adam Simmonds, a research associate at GovGrant, said in a statement.

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“This could become an attractive area of ​​growth for the United States and other countries, especially since many countries lack the expertise to produce this meat. There will certainly be an upsurge in the number of producers, who will want to take full advantage of the upcoming increase in demand.”

The United States leads the growth of cultured meat

Cultured meat, also known as lab-grown or cultured meat, uses small amounts of animal cells and grows them in a lab setting to create a food product. The benefits of cultured meat are huge, with life-cycle assessments indicating that it would use significantly less land and water, emit fewer greenhouse gases, and reduce agriculture-related pollution and eutrophication—plus no more ethical issues to face. Raising and slaughtering animals.

As the cultured meat sector within the food industry is predicted to witness rapid growth in its market share, the report highlights countries poised to lead the development. According to the report, the United States currently accounts for more than 60 percent of global investment in cultured meat — more than any other country — and has broken the billion-dollar mark in the process.

In comparison, Israel (21.72 percent), the Netherlands (5.67 percent), Singapore (4.61 percent), and the United Kingdom (1.31 percent) make up the top five on GovGrant’s list of the most invested in cultured meat, while China (1.17 percent), South Korea (0.97 percent), Japan (0.60 percent), France (0.49 percent), and Spain (0.46 percent) round out the top 10.

Regulatory approval of cultured meat

Since the Singapore Food Agency approved Eat Just’s cultured chicken produced under its subsidiary Good Meat in December 2020, there have been no other regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of cultured meat products. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently took a step toward allowing the sale of cultured meat in the US, deeming one of UPSIDE Foods’ meat products safe for human consumption, joining several other companies in doing the same. .

UPSIDE FOOD

Last November, California-based company UPSIDE Foods received a Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) letter from the FDA, deeming its farm-raised chicken fillets safe for consumption in the United States.

UPSIDE Foods worked with the FDA to obtain its GRAS letter, becoming the first company in the world to receive the FDA green light for cultred meat. In addition to releasing a memo explaining the approval, the FDA released a 104-page document prepared by UPSIDE Foods that details the safety and production process of the company’s farmed chicken filets.

“We are thrilled with the FDA’s announcement that, after a rigorous evaluation, the FDA accepts UPSIDE’s conclusion that our farmed chicken is safe to eat,” David Kay, director of communications for UPSIDE Foods, previously told VegNews.

“Upside Foods is ushering in a new era in meat production with this ‘No Questions Asked’ letter, and this historic move paves the way for us to market in the United States,” Kay said.

UPSIDE Foods has been working toward approval since 2018, when the company worked with the meat industry group North American Meat Institute (NAMI) to help establish a regulatory framework that jointly grants regulatory approval to the FDA and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). For cultured meat. UPSIDE is now in the process of obtaining approval from the USDA

UPSIDE FOOD

UPSIDE Foods’ regulatory approval could pave the way for mass market adoption in the US. “As FDA rubber-stamping lab-grown meat as safe, the market should really stop now,” Alec Griffiths, GovGrant’s IP manager, said in a statement.

“This makes it more important than ever for companies to protect their assets, so we can expect to see an acceleration in the number of patents filed in the coming months and years – and plenty of new faces in the sector.”

Nicole Axworthy is news editor and cookbook author for VegNews DIY Vegan.