1. What is Cellular Agriculture?
   Cellular Agriculture is a set of technologies to produce animal products like milk and meat directly from cells.

 

2. Why do we need it?
   With a growing and increasingly rich global population, the consumption of animal products is expected to keep growing. With CA, we envision to serve at least part of this global growth, and with that avoid a part of the global negative consequences for climate and biodiversity. 

 

3. What does the Dutch Growth Fund invest in? 
   The Growth Fund financing is explicitly aiming to support the public part of the societal ecosystem, it will not go to private companies. The funds will be used to stimulate cellular agriculture education, academic research, and publicly accessible scale-up facilities. A full public ecosystem covering the whole value chain will enable existing and new companies to be more efficient (faster, better, and more cost-effective) in their route to market. More private activity will increase the earning capacity in the Netherlands.

 

4. What does it mean for climate and environment?
   According to an independent Life Cycle Analysis study by CE Delft, cultivated meat production could reduce climate impact by 92%, air pollution by 93%, use 95% less land and 78% less water when compared to industrial meat production. However, we have to realise that these numbers are still estimations and need to be proven when production processes are worked out in more detail. Final benefits of products produced by cellular agriculture will differ per type of product and production process companies use individually. On milk proteins without animals the first LCA’s are emerging showing a similar environmental footprint improvement. 

 

5. What does this mean for farmers?
   Cellular agriculture will be transformational over the course of decades. Farmers have the opportunity to diversify their activities, like providing animal cells, become producers, or grow the crops needed to feed cells. In  combination with reforms to conventional farming, this is how we are going to solve the climate crisis and feed a growing global population. 

 

6. When can we see eat this?
   That is dependent on when CA companies apply for regulatory approval, and when regulators approve the products to be sold. This approval process takes roughly 1.5 years in Europe. It will likely take a couple of years before CA products appear in the supermarkets in the Netherlands. It is already on the market in Singapore and Israel. Soon, we will be able to do tastings at companies in the Netherlands.

 

7. What will it cost?
   The expectation is that when CA products go to market, the cost will start at the price range of current premium animal products. As with most new technologies, the first products will be sold on a small scale at a high price. As we scale up, the price will come down, and we aim to ultimately be competitive with meat products currently in supermarkets. Ultimately, meat and dairy from cellular agriculture could be less expensive than conventional animal products because its production can be  highly efficient.

 

8. How does this relate to plant-based alternatives?
   We are very happy with the momentum in plant-based alternatives, but considering the enormous current global volume of animal product consumption and the rate of acceptance of plant-based alternatives, we strongly feel cellular agriculture is needed as an additional solution for those consumers that are not willing to switch to plant-based alternatives. Both are needed.

 

9. Will consumers eat CA products?
   Consumer acceptance of cultivated meat continues to increase to high levels, even though it is not everywhere available yet. A recent study in the US and UK showed almost 90% acceptance among Gen Z and 70% among babyboomers. See the research paper here. Also, in the Netherlands the majority of the population is positive, and these numbers keep growing (e.g. Flycatcher research). In addition, research suggests an important role for habituation  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00069/full 
   For animal-free dairy, researchers already found ‘substantial’ consumer acceptance across different countries. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.678491/full 

 

About tasting products produced with cellular agriculture

Cultivated meat and fish qualify as a 'novel food'. This means that the product must first pass a safety assessment by the European Union (the European Food Safety Authority) before it can be sold in the Union. To organize a tasting, a producer can submit a request to the Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation (CANS), which has brought together a committee of experts to evaluate the safety of the products offered.

1. What will happen during a tasting?
   Dutch producers of cultivated meat and fish will be able to have their products tasted under controlled conditions by selected participants during a tasting. The design of a tasting can differ per producer and depending on the time that a tasting is organized.

    

2. Is a tasting safe and how is that guaranteed?
   The organizing producer of cultivated meat or fish is responsible for the safety of the tasting.
   Cultivated meat and fish qualify as a 'novel food'. This means that the product must first pass a safety assessment by the European Union (the European Food Safety Authority) before it can be sold in the Union. The safety assessment at European level has not yet been carried out for the tastings.
   To organize a tasting, a producer must submit a request to the Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation (CANS), which has brought together a committee of experts to evaluate the safety of the products offered. The expert committee consists of four experts in toxicology, microbiology, ethics and medicine. After positive evaluation of an application, a producer can organize up to 10 tastings.
   
   
3. When are the tastings and with how many people?
   Dutch producers of cultivated meat and fish can organize up to 10 tastings after a positive application, with a maximum of 30 participants per tasting. It is up to the companies to organize tastings and select participants.
   
   

4. Who can register to participate in a tasting and where can this be done?
   Dutch producers of cultivated meat and fish can organize up to 10 tastings after a positive application, with a maximum of 30 participants per tasting. It is up to the companies to organize tastings and select participants.

    

5. What are the conditions to participate in a tasting?
   A participant in a tasting must be selected in advance, so participation is not open to the general public. All participants must sign an information and consent form in advance. This document sets out the regulatory status of the product and what analyzes and checks have been carried out to ensure the safety of the product. Participants will not be compensated for participation and declare by signing a form that they are aware of this information and that they participate at their own risk and on a voluntary basis. They also confirm that they have no allergies, are not pregnant and are in good health.

    

Questions?