Milestone Tasting of Cultured Meat in Europe
ORF Genetics and Australian food innovators Vow announced the success of the first cultured-meat tasting of its kind in Europe, featuring dishes made from Japanese quail cells. Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir was among the attendees.
Iceland, February 13, 2024 - ORF Genetics, and Australian novel food innovators, Vow, are proud to announce the success of its first of a kind cultured meat tasting in Europe on February 12th, 2024, featuring gourmet dishes created from the cells of Japanese quail. Among those attending was the Prime Minister and acting Minister of Food, Fisheries and Agriculture of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who had her first taste of cultivated meat at the event, which she enjoyed.
A sustainable option for the future
The production of cultured meat, also known as cultivated meat, is significantly more sustainable than traditional farming. Vow are pioneers in this novel industry, developing methods to grow meat directly from animal cells. The nascent sector has the potential to provide high-quality meat at scale with a minimal carbon footprint: emitting much less greenhouse gases, and requiring less land and water, than traditional livestock farming.
Growth factors for a growing market
While the market for cultured meat is still in the early stages of development, it is foreseen to grow exponentially in the next few years and decades. A report by McKinsey predicts that the market for cultured meat could reach $25 billion by 2030.
To become climate relevant and meet demand, cultured meat producers will have to scale up production fast. This is where ORF Genetics comes in, an innovator in developing a range of animal growth factors based on its extensive work with bioengineering barley grain. ORF Genetics has focused on expanding its portfolio of high-quality animal growth factors, and on scaling up its production capacity to meet the cultured meat industry’s need for a reliable supply. Growth factors are critical components in cultured meat production.
"It is clear that our food systems need to change so that we can feed a population estimated to reach 9 billion in 2040. It is also evident that we need to use innovation and technology to establish new ways of addressing the climate challenge. This is exactly what we are seeing on the tasting tables here today. Cultivated meat is one of the solutions to the climate challenge. The Icelandic authorities are determined to pave the way for the adoption of new solutions in Iceland and we are eager to see the development of an EU regulatory framework for cultivated meat."
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister and acting Minister of Food, Fisheries and Agriculture of Iceland.