£12m project launched on best ways to produce cultured meat

A UK research project will establish the most effective ways of using animal cells to grow cultured meat to feed a growing population without relying on a big uplift in livestock numbers.

Ruth Wonfor of Aberystwyth University, whose research is part of a £12m project to set up a so-called Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub, will focus on the best cells to use for producing cultured meat.

See also: Lab-grown meat more costly for environment, study finds

She will also look at the nutrient formulations with which they are grown under laboratory conditions. 

Dr Wonfor said the study would look to identify the best source of muscle cells and nutrients for bioreactors that produce cultured meat “sustainably, efficiently and ethically” to produce additional sources of protein alongside traditional farming methods.

The project overall is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and led by the University of Bath. 

UK science minister George Freeman said that, with the global population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, world food production on the same land area would need to double while using half as much energy and water.

“We cannot achieve that through traditional agriculture,” Mr Freeman suggested.