This article originally appeared in Down to Earth, the Guardian’s climate and environment newsletter. Don’t miss out on more exclusive pieces like this and a digest of the week’s biggest environmental stories by signing up here.
As I clumsily handled my chopsticks, I could feel the intense gaze of the four executives surrounding me. Seated at the head of the table in a room nestled between a commercial kitchen and a laboratory, I had just finished a tour of the Finless Foods facility in San Francisco – and this was the culmination.
Before me lay four exquisitely presented pieces of high-quality nigiri, accompanied by all the customary extras. Two were crafted from wild-caught bluefin tuna, while the other two were unreleased prototypes grown from cell cultures in their lab. I was one of the few individuals outside of the company given the opportunity to sample the results of years of research, experimentation, and investment – all aimed at creating a sustainable future for seafood.
With its prototype nearing completion and preparations underway for submission to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Finless is well-positioned to obtain regulatory approval by 2024. Their fish is created through a mixture of lab-grown cells and a proprietary blend of plant-based materials, carefully curated to replicate the appearance, texture, aroma, taste, and nutritional profile of their counterparts caught in the sea. The company is also on track to become the first to offer cell-cultured bluefin tuna to American consumers.
Despite years of conservation-focused messaging, the demand for this delectable delicacy continues to rise. Chef Mark Okuda referred to it as “essential to sushi” in an LA Times article discussing the downsides of consuming bluefin tuna. By 2016, the Pacific bluefin tuna population had dwindled to a mere 2.6% of its original size. Although recent years have witnessed a rebound in bluefin stocks worldwide, the species remains endangered due to overfishing.
“We are reaching carrying capacity,” remarked Shannon Cosentino-Roush, Chief Strategy Officer at Finless, highlighting the challenges faced by this fish and the surrounding ecosystems. She added, “There’s no sign of demand decreasing.”
** Click here to read the full-text **
