UK poised to be world leading developer of lab-grown meat

UK is poised to be a world leading developer of lab-grown meat, states a recent report, highlighting that the sector is predicted to rapidly increase its market share in the food industry.

This fast-growing element of the foodtech sector involves cultivating meat by culturing animal cells. It’s expected to make up almost a quarter of global meat consumption by 2035.

UK organisations have received £28.55 million in investment, raising more in the space than countries such as China, South Korea, Japan and France. The UK is beaten only by the US, Israel, the Netherlands and Singapore.

UK cultured meat company HigherSteaks, based in Cambridge, has received the second largest amount of capital investment of any company in the UK sector, sitting sixth on the list for Europe. It’s also filed the most UK patents of any company in the cultured meat space.

The report, that shows the UK’s forecasted cultured meat market has over half the value of all major European markets, was created by IP specialists GovGrant to discover which countries and companies are attracting most funding for cultured meat developments.

The report comes a month after the UK government was called on invest in research and development to realise benefits of the cultivated meat.

The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe), an NGO working to advance sustainable proteins including cultivated meat across the UK and Europe, asked the UK government to invest in research and development to realise benefits of the cultivated meat here.

“This milestone announcement sends a strong message around the world that cultivated meat will be part of a more sustainable food future,” Seth Roberts, policy manager the GFI Europe, said.

“Cultivated meat has the potential to help satisfy growing global demand for meat, while reducing the environmental impacts of our food system.

“As COP27 draws to a close, ministers should be investing in climate solutions like cultivated meat – just as they’ve supported renewable energy – to ensure the benefits are felt here in the UK.”