The European country raising the most investment in lab-grown meat is the Netherlands, receiving the third largest investment globally of £23.92 million: more than the UK, Singapore and China.
This comes after the Netherlands made history back in April 2022 when the government announced €60 million to support the creation of a national cellular agriculture ecosystem - this amount was the largest-ever investment in cellular agriculture by a national government.
The report by IP specialists GovGrant detailed which countries and companies are attracting most funding for cultured meat developments.
The starting pistol for the lab-grown meat market was fired when the Singapore Food Agency approved the commercial sale of a lab-grown chicken product in December 2020. The Asian country is now the fourth-biggest investor in cultured meat, with six companies involved and more than £100 million raised.
Yet, that’s eclipsed by the US, which is responsible for over 60% of global investment in lab-grown meat (more than all other countries combined) – and has broken the billion pound-barrier in the process. The FDA’s November 2022 decision to declare cultured meat declared safe to eat has paved the way for mass-market adoption.
The top 10 countries by total investment raised for cultured meat development:
After cultured meat received FDA approval, the report optimistically predicts lab-grown meat will make up nearly a quarter of all meat consumption by 2035.
But European companies are lagging behind, according to the report.
Israel, in second place, has less than half the US’ investment so far. It does, however, have a mature venture capital sector and a high proportion of specialised companies.
The Netherlands comes third on the list, but fourth-placed Singapore has triple the amount of companies working in the niche.
The UK, in fifth place, has eight companies focussing on cultured meat, but has attracted just 1% of global investment.
Among the top 10 companies for patents in Europe, only three are actually from Europe: HigherSteaks (UK), Mosa Meat (Netherlands) and Biotech Foods (Spain). The rest are US or Asia-based, with two coming from Israel.
These companies already have an advantage when it comes to protecting their innovations in Europe – potentially monopolising the foundational technology behind this new method of meat production.
Alec Griffiths, IP Manager at GovGrant, said: “With the FDA rubber-stamping lab-grown meat as safe, the market should really take off now. That 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.”
Separate research, meanwhile, from the UK’s Institute of Economic Affairs is urging the government to create a more favourable regulatory regime for food innovation.
A report from the free-market think tank claims lab-grown meat could offer the solution to the negative effects of intensive livestock on the environment – including greenhouse gas emissions, polluted ecosystems and lost biodiversity -- potentially reducing energy use between 7 per cent and 45 per cent, greenhouse gas emissions by 78 per cent to 96 per cent, water use by 82 per cent to 96 per cent and land use by 99 per cent. But the EU’s novel food regulations – which have been retained in UK law post-Brexit – have delayed the kind of innovation we need to tackle the challenges associated with industrial farming, the report argues, and the UK risks falling behind those countries where regulators have begun approving lab-grown meat.
If the UK were to update the existing regulatory framework it could add up to £2.1 billion to the UK economy by 2030, give Britain a competitive edge, and accelerate efforts to make cultivated meat widely available to consumers.
“It sounds like the stuff of science fiction – producing meat without animals. But it’s closer than we realise. The first cultivated or lab-grown meat product was presented in 2013, while the first sale was in Singapore in 2020. Now, across the world, there is a race to widespread commercialisation,” said Matthew Lesh, IEA Head of Public Policy and report author said.
“But in the UK this could be held back by unnecessarily cumbersome and precautionary regulation. Brexit provides the opportunity for the UK to diverge from the EU’s approach and introduce a regulatory regime that is more welcoming of food innovations such as cultivated meat, allowing us to become a world-leader in the transformative technology.”
If the UK were to update the existing regulatory framework it could add up to £2.1 billion to the UK economy by 2030, give Britain a competitive edge, and accelerate efforts to make cultivated meat widely available to consumers.
“It sounds like the stuff of science fiction – producing meat without animals. But it’s closer than we realise. The first cultivated or lab-grown meat product was presented in 2013, while the first sale was in Singapore in 2020. Now, across the world, there is a race to widespread commercialisation,” said Matthew Lesh, IEA Head of Public Policy and report author said.
“But in the UK this could be held back by unnecessarily cumbersome and precautionary regulation. Brexit provides the opportunity for the UK to diverge from the EU’s approach and introduce a regulatory regime that is more welcoming of food innovations such as cultivated meat, allowing us to become a world-leader in the transformative technology.”
Conservative MP Jonathan Djanogly, said: “At its heart, cultivated meat is an innovative and cutting-edge solution to the significant challenges posed to the environment by intensive livestock farming. Farmers across the country deserve our thanks for the work they do in providing nutritious and quality produce but, with demand for meat continuing to rise globally, it is only right that alternatives are considered – especially where those alternatives can taste, look and smell the same as conventional meat. This report is a welcome move towards greater such consideration, and it is crucial that UK-based companies are given the support they need to lead the world in this growing, profitable and sustainable industry.”
