SPECIAL STORY FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2023 63 conditions of work; 4) societal issues such as animal health and welfare, food consumption habits, cultural gastronomy, etc. and finally, 5) inputs necessary to produce food. The cell-based food technology should be assessed according to these principles. CELL-BASED FOOD IS NOT (YET) A SUSTAINABLE FOOD WITH AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE In brief, cell-based food raises many debates and controversies. It is not yet a sustainable food because it is still unclear if its (1) protective and respectful of the environment, (2) culturally acceptable, (3) accessible (since its price is still too high and its production very limited), (4) economically fair and affordable; (5) nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; and (6) able to optimise natural and human resources. The technical aspects, although surrounded by great uncertainty, are the easiest to deal with, because they are based on factual observations. In order to become a credible alternative, "cultured meat" must offer real and proven added value compared to meat. This is not (yet) the case. Thus, "cultured meat" is at a crossroads with several possible scenarios. The first scenario would be the failure of the development of cell-based food due to unfulfilled promises by start-ups, lack of support from public authorities and consumers who remain unconvinced. In this scenario, one may assume that the market for other meat substitutes may increase or decrease. The second scenario is the opposite, based on ever greater investments, spectacular technical progress and support from governments and consumers, which would lead to a sharp reduction of intensive livestock farming replaced by cell-based food. This implies a sharp reduction in the cost of cell-based food. Thus, pragmatic consumers would adopt the product for economic reasons. In this scenario, only positively perceived extensive livestock farming would remain to produce a meat considered as a luxury product. The third scenario is logically situated between the first two: livestock farming would remain largely present for consumers attached to meat and to the culinary history of their countries, while meat substitutes, including "cultured meat", would develop for environmental and ethical reasons. Hybrid substitutes combining plant proteins and "cultured meat" are likely to develop first because of the still high cost of muscle cultures. However, the limited market penetration of “cultured meat” alone would be a major obstacle to solving the current ethical and environmental problems. At present, the current scenario looks like scenario one in that "cultured meat" is not permitted, except in Singapore and more recently in the USA. Scenario two is clearly the least likely because of the highly significant technical, regulatory and social obstacles to be overcome. The question is whether it is possible to move to scenario three, a question that remains unanswered today because of the many technical, regulatory, political and social uncertainties and the lack of transparency from cell-based food producers. Returning to the original issues (feeding the world while protecting the planet and the animals), reducing food waste, even by half, would be a huge step forward. Another simple solution would be to rethink livestock systems by strengthening the virtuous circle between animals, plants and soils according to the principles of agroecology. WE NEED A MORE GLOBAL APPROACH OF OUR FOOD SYSTEM In conclusion, it is clear that the cell-based food industry lacks research on any new sustainable model related to its development to tackle the various sustainable development goals and address interactions between them. It is also clear that such research and approaches are also poorly developed about our current food system. Indeed, the different dimensions of sustainability are rarely analyzed together including for current livestock farming systems. Any new business model should aim to connect the challenges of our society and of the planet to the private companies’ economic strategy and interests.
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