World’s Largest Bioreactors to Produce ‘Slaughter-Free’ Meat Will be Built in the U.S.

EAT

May 27

The ten new vats will be capable of producing 30 million pounds of meat - all without harming or killing a single animal.

30 million pounds of real meat without slaughtering a single animal. That’s what GOOD Meat is working to make a reality, as the food tech company announces the building of the world’s largest-known bioreactors to produce cultivated meat.

Cultivated meat has been hailed as one of the leading solutions to ending the suffering of animals in the farming industry. Unlike plant-based alternatives, such as the Impossible Burger, cultivated meat is produced directly from animal cells.

Simply put, cells are painlessly taken from a living animal and then scientists feed and nurture the cells so that they multiply. This method can be used to produce meat, fish, and dairy products all while removing the need to raise and farm animals for food.

To grow cultivated meat at scale, bioreactors - containers that provide the cells with all the necessary conditions for optimal growth - in volumes up to or beyond several thousands of liters are needed.

GOOD Meat’s ten new 250,000-liter bioreactors, located in the United States, will initially produce chicken and beef, according to the company. It will have capacity to distribute products to tens of thousands of shops and restaurants across the country once there’s regulatory approval in the U.S., which could be anywhere from 18 to 24 months.

The U.S. site for the facility is due to be finalized within three months and operational in late 2024, reaching 11,800 tonnes a year by 2026 and 13,700 tonnes by 2030, reports The Guardian.

“I think our grandchildren are going to ask us about why we ate meat from slaughtered animals back in 2022,” said Josh Tetrick, the chief executive of GOOD Meat’s parent company, Eat Just.

“Cultivated meat matters because it will enable us to eat meat without all the harm, without bulldozing forests, without the need to slaughter an animal, without the need to use antibiotics, without accelerating zoonotic diseases.

“The bioreactors will be far and away the largest, not only in the cultivated meat industry, but in the biopharma industry too. So the design and engineering challenges are significant, the capital investments are significant and the potential to take another step toward shifting society away from slaughtered meat is significant.”

To design, manufacture, install and commission the bioreactors, GOOD Meat has partnered with ABEC, Inc., a global leader in the biotech manufacturing industry.

ABEC is also designing and manufacturing bioreactors for GOOD Meat’s California headquarters, which are slated to be operational at the end of the year. It’s also working on a 6,000-liter bioreactor for GOOD Meat’s Singapore facility, to help meet the growing demand.

GOOD Meat’s received regulatory approval for commercial sales of its cell-based chicken in Singapore December 2020, making it the first company to do so. Currently, Singapore is currently the only country in the world where cultivated meat has received regulatory approval.

“Our first step was receiving regulatory approval and launching in Singapore. Our second step has been selling to customers through restaurants, street vendors and delivery platforms. We’ve learned that consumers want this, and we’re ready to take the next step to make this happen at commercial scale. I am very proud to partner with the ABEC team to make this historic facility happen,” said Tetrick.

Caroline Bushnell, a vice-president at the non-profit Good Food Institute, said: “The scale of [Good Meat’s] facility represents real and growing confidence from companies in the commercial potential of cultivated meat. This plant, with its potential to decrease production costs, could be a gamechanger in the race to bring meat grown from cells to restaurants, supermarkets and dining tables.”.

Fascinated by cultivated meat meat? Check out our podcast focus The Future of Food - where we talk with the game changers who are leading the way toward a world without factory farms and slaughterhouses.

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