This week saw two major collaborations in the cultivated meat sector come to life with the formation of a Cultivated Meat Global Alliance and the Tufts University Centre for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) Consortium, which both share the goal of accelerating industry growth.
The Cultivated Meat Global Alliance met during Singapore International Agri-Food Week to formalise the launch of the alliance, which represents three major cultivated protein industry associations. It aims to strengthen regional synergies, advance regulatory frameworks and strengthen effective communication regarding the benefits of cellular agriculture. The representative members are the U.S.-based Alliance for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Innovation (AMPS), the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA) and Cellular Agriculture Europe (CAE). Amongst these bodies, more than 31 leading cultivated meat, seafood and dairy companies are represented.
Tufts University Centre for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) also announced the creation of the TUCCA consortium. The initiative champions the possibilities that knowledge sharing among industry leaders offers to increase the rate of technological advancement. It plans to utilise Tufts Schools’ facilities to find solutions to key challenges identified by members regarding protein cultivation. Founding members are BioFeyn, Cargill, CellX, the Good Food Institute, MilliporeSigma, ThermoFisher Scientific, TurtleTree, UPSIDE Foods, and Australian cultivated meat company Vow.
As an industry with more than 120 start-ups and over US$2B in cumulative funding according to GFI, both of these initiatives hope to realise the combined potential of the cultivated protein industries.
“Global challenges require global solutions. By bringing together regional industry coalitions from Europe, the US, and Asia Pacific, this timely, new worldwide alliance has the potential to be a game-changer,” Mirte Gosker, Managing Director of GFI APAC shared.
“The pre-competitive research we do together will help build the foundation of technology for the industry,” said Christel Andreassen, associate director of TUCCA. “These efforts may be outside the main business focus of the individual members, or beyond the scope of capability for any one member to address,” he added.
Whilst competition has been known to accelerate innovation, this collaborative approach poses an alternative opportunity for driving growth within the newly emerging cultivated protein sector. Sharing of understanding, insight and resources positions the new industry to more quickly overcome fundamental challenges allowing for greater widespread advancements in the future.
READ MORE: US, EU & APAC Cultivated Food Associations Announce Major Global Alliance To Boost Industry [Green Queen]
New Cellular Agriculture Consortium Will Help Develop the Foods of the Future [TuftsNow]