Scientists in New Zealand are culturing plant cells to grow fruit without a tree, vine or bush, with initial trials using blueberries, apples, cherries, feijoas, peaches, nectarines and grapes cells. This comes at a time when more than 80 companies worldwide are looking to commercialize cell-based meat and seafood.
The horticulture experts at Plant and Food Research – a government-owned crown research institute – aim to create a way to use less resources and improve the environmental impact of food production through science.
According to Dr. Ben Schon, scientist and leader of the Food by Design program at Plant and Food Research, there is widespread interest and development in cellular food production systems within a controlled environment.
“Cellular horticulture currently has a smaller profile than cellular agriculture and aquaculture, but we believe this is a really exciting area of science where we can utilize our expertise in plant biology and food science to explore what could become a significant food production system in the future.”
The five-year-long Food by Design program started 18 months ago and is funded through Plant and Food Research’s internal Growing Futures investment of the MBIE Strategic Science Investment Fund.
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