Have you ever tried cultivated meat before? If not, what you're about to learn will make you want to. Let us introduce you to Believer Meats, formerly known as Future Meat Technologies.
Established in 2018, the company says, "the only difference is that it’s been grown in a lab from high-quality, non-GMO animal cells. The result is meat that doesn’t require compromising on taste, quality, or environmental impact. It’s time to enjoy meat that’s as good for you as it is for the world."We talked to co-founder and chief scientific officer Prof. Yaakov Nahmias from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem about Believer and cultivated meat.
"Believer Meats is doing almost everything differently from other companies. Most companies use stem cells. Unfortunately, stem cells are inherently unstable and require quite a few growth factors and hormones to expand, making the cell feed medium incredibly expensive. We, on the other hand, are using fibroblasts. These connective tissue cells require no growth factors and are exceptionally robust. Without growth factors, our cell feed medium is ten times lower than our competitors.
"In addition, we developed a method to adapt our cells to grow as a single-cell suspension. This means that cell growth is not limited to the bioreactor surface area. Usually, cells like stem cells need to stick to surfaces like carrier beads. This limits stem cell density to about 7x106 cells per mL. In contrast, the Believer Meats process uses non-adherent cells, reaching cell densities upwards of 100x106 cells per mL.
"The potential of releasing more than 600M acres of pastureland to nature is truly inspiring. It could mean massive reforestation over North America and potentially making the United States carbon neutral for a decade. "Cultivated or cultured meat is produced by cultivating animal cells without killing or slaughtering animals.