Tools and technologies for cultured meat production

自1970年以来，世界肉类消费量增长了两倍，到2050年将进一步增长76%。在未来，将没有足够的肉类供应给世界人口。这种短缺将打击低收入和中等收入国家，在这些国家，肉类是营养丰富的蛋白质、维生素和矿物质的重要但有限的来源，尤其困难。每年有超过800亿只动物被屠宰，其中大部分是工厂化养殖的。增加牲畜产量不是解决问题的办法，因为这会促进气候变化、环境破坏和传染病传播。畜牧业产生了15%的人为温室气体（GHG），如果继续下去，将使全球气温升高0.5°C。畜牧业和动物饲料作物也占了大部分农业用水和85%的雨林砍伐。过度拥挤和糟糕的福利标准有助于疾病的传播，包括猪流感和禽流感，也是人类食物中毒的主要原因。牲畜抗生素的过度使用助长了耐抗生素细菌的增加，使抗生素药物变得无用：令人震惊的是，预计到2050年，耐抗生素病原体造成的死亡率将高于癌症。人造肉（CM）在生物反应器中培养动物细胞，生产类似于传统肉类的产品，但不需要动物遭受任何痛苦。CM还将使用更少的资源（能源、土地和水），产生更少的温室气体，从而抵消环境问题。由于CM只需要动物的少量细胞，它消除了农业福利问题和抗生素的使用。CM吸引消费者考虑到这些问题，是在精心控制的无菌条件下进行的，大大提高了食品安全。到2030年，全球2.469亿美元的CM市场将增加到68亿美元。然而，为了实现这一预测，这种新方法需要大规模生产肉类，才能解决未来的肉类短缺问题。第一个CM汉堡花费了33万美元，这表明尽管成本非常高，但可食用的CM产品是可能的。挑战在于使用具有成本效益和市场竞争力的流程大量生产CM。每年要消耗数百万吨的肉类，因此最终需要开发能够产生高密度细胞培养物的大型生物反应器（1万升）。这需要细胞能够在苛刻的条件下生长，并仔细平衡营养和细胞毒性副产品。这些营养物质（如生长因子）需要便宜、特性好、性能稳定。该项目结合了三所英国大学和四家英国公司开发牲畜细胞系、重组蛋白技术、水凝胶和生物反应器组件的技能和能力，共同开发CM生产的技术解决方案。

World meat consumption has tripled since 1970 and will increase a further 76% by 2050\. In the future, there will not be enough meat available for the world's population. This shortage will hit low-and-middle-income countries, where meat is an important but limited source of nutrient-dense protein, vitamins and minerals, especially hard.Over 80 billion animals are slaughtered annually for meat, the majority being factory-farmed. Increasing livestock production isn't the answer as this promotes climate change, environmental destruction and infectious disease spread. Livestock farming generates 15% of human-made greenhouse gas (GHG) and will contribute 0.5°C to global temperatures if continued. Cattle-ranching and animal-feed crops also account for most agricultural water use and 85% of rainforest clearance. Overcrowding and poor welfare standards help spread diseases, including swine and avian flu, and are major contributors to human food poisoning. Excessive livestock antibiotic use is fueling increases in antibiotic-resistant bacteria which render antibiotic medication useless: Alarmingly, antibiotic-resistant pathogens are forecast to cause greater mortality than cancer by 2050\.Cultivated meat (CM) grows animal cells in bioreactors to produce a product similar to conventional meat but without the need for any animal suffering. CM will also use fewer resources (energy, land and water) and produces less GHG, counteracting environmental issues. Since CM only requires a few cells from animals, it eliminates farming welfare issues and antibiotic use. CM, which appeals to consumers considerate of these issues, is undertaken in carefully controlled, sterile conditions vastly improving food safety.The global US$246.9Mn CM market is set to increase to $6.8Bn by 2030\. However, to achieve this forecast, this new approach needs to produce meat at a scale before it can then address future meat shortages. The first CM burger cost $330,000, demonstrating edible CM products are possible albeit at very high costs. The challenge is to make CM in large amounts, using a cost-effective and market-competitive process. Millions of tons of meat are consumed annually, so this will ultimately necessitate the development of massive (\>10,000L) bioreactors capable of generating very high-density cell cultures. This requires cells capable of growing under demanding conditions and carefully balancing nutrients and cell-toxic by-products. These nutrients (such as growth factors) need to be cheap, well-characterised and perform consistently.This project combines the skills and capabilities of three UK universities and four UK companies developing livestock cell lines, recombinant protein technologies, hydrogels and bioreactor components to collaboratively develop technological solutions for CM production.