Lab-grown meat could see a significant decrease in price if it continues its current trajectory, potentially matching conventional meat costs by 2030.
Cultivated meat, also known as lab-grown meat, is produced when animal cells are replicated using a bioreactor. The technique could reduce the reliance on farmlands. Livestock farming uses more than a quarter of the planet’s ice-free land and contributes to about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a McKinsey & Co. report.
But the cost of producing this alternative has provided a barrier to most consumers. The first lab-produced beef burger cost a whopping $325,000 back in 2013. Producers have since slashed production costs by 99 percent to roughly $17 per pound. Singapore approved cultivated meat for consumption in 2020, opening the floodgate for investors.
That same year, over 100 lab-grown meat start-ups secured around $350 million in funding. The number ballooned to $1.4 billion in 2021.
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