Science

World's largest cultured meat factory takes shape in the US

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Believer Meats has broken ground on what will become the world's largest cultured meat facility
Believer Meats
Believer Meats' cultured meat facility in the US will cover 200,000 square feet
Believer Meats
Believer Meats has broken ground on what will become the world's largest cultured meat facility
Believer Meats

Israeli cultured meat outfit Believer Meats, known formerly as Future Meat, is looking to play a pivotal role in the availability of lab-grown meat products, and a new facility under construction in the US should help these efforts along. The company says it has broken ground on a new factory in North Carolina that will become the largest of its kind in the world, where the company's proprietary technology will be used to pump out cultivated meat by the metric ton.

Along with startups like Impossible Foods and compatriots Aleph Farms, Believer Meats is endeavoring to drive down the cost of lab-grown meat, and in the last couple of years it's taken some important steps toward that aim. These include the opening of its first factory in Israel, and significant investments that enabled it to reduce the cost of its lab-grown chicken to US$1.70 per breast.

The company is looking to build on these successes with its first commercial factory in the US. It says ground was broken on the facility yesterday in Wilson, North Carolina, which will cover 200,000 square feet (18,500 sq m) once completed to become the largest cultivated meat production center in the world.

Believer Meats' cultured meat facility in the US will cover 200,000 square feet
Believer Meats

"Our facility propels Believer forward as a leader in the cultivated meat industry," said Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, CEO of Believer Meats. "Our brand has continually proven our commitment to scale production technology and capacity, and with our new US production center, we are one step closer to commercialization. Believer is setting the standard globally to make it possible for future generations to eat and enjoy meat."

Believer Meats says once it becomes operational, the facility will have the capacity to produce at least 10,000 metric tons of cultivated meat, (presumably an annual figure), pending regulatory approval. This will come via the company’s “media rejuvenation process,” where cells are harvested from live animals and treated in stainless steel fermenters while fed nutrients to proliferate and form tissues. In turn, these become edible cuts of meat.

“Believer is on a mission to ensure that future generations can enjoy the meat we know and love today,” said Johnson-Hoffman. “Breaking ground on our first US facility is not only a watershed moment for our company, but for the category as a whole, as it demonstrates our commitment to making cultivated meat a reality. The scale of our facility is a giant leap forward in ensuring that we can create meat that is not only delicious, sustainable, and nutritious, but also broadly accessible.”

Source: North Carolina Department of Commerce, Believer Meats via PRNewswire

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9 comments
Mivoyses
"lab-grown meat products", "cultivated meat", yeah, sure. While we currently consume questionable products (does anyone REALLY know what's in a Hot Dog?) the idea of a lab grown Sirloin or T-Bone even being close to the "real thing" in taste, consistency, texture, and nutrition is iffy. I'll stick with the original.
Robt
Impossible Foods are trying to grow pretend meat with plants and assorted chemicals ugh. Not at all in the same industry as these guys.
Believer Meats cultivates and grows meat using proteins and cells originating from the animals themselves.
Catweazle
We are told to eschew "processed foods", even flour and baked potatoes are regarded as "processed" by some authorities.

I can't see it being possible something grown in a tank to be anything other than the epitome of "highly processed", so I shall decline.
guzmanchinky
I cannot wait for this. I HATE the idea of how damaging meat it to the environment and cruel to the animals, but I LOVE meat!
PAV
I wonder if they ever get the mass of protein sprouting "eyes", are bone mass, or other appendages.
https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2021/09/10/lab-grown-brains-have-spontaneously-developed-eyes-that-react-to-light/
paul314
To put this in perspective, americans consume about 100 kilos of meat per year (mostly poultry, then beef, then pork). So 10,000 tons (10,000,000 kilos) is enough to replace, say, the annual beef consumption of about 400,000 people. You'd need close to a thousand of these factories to replace just one category of US meat consumption. (Not that it would be laid out that way -- I'd be happy if there were enough factories to replace all the fast-food meat in the country, because that stuff is pretty unrecognizable anyway.)
Eggbones
I'm flexitarian because of environmental concerns and philosophical positions about the treatment of animals. I can't wait until we have a viable alternative to our current production methods!
DavidB
I’m going to miss meat as much as anyone, but we have to do something to stop ourselves from destroying the planet, so I’m behind what they’re trying to do, 100%…and maybe it’ll taste good, too
DavidB
LOL, @Robt. I can’t remember the last time I bought ground beef. No matter what the dish is that calls for it—burgers, meat loaf, one-pan dinner with onions and potatoes and peas, you name it—I make it with Impossible meat. They really nailed the flavor and texture.

Ground beef isn’t what this new company is aiming at, though; they’re trying to grow beef that looks like and tastes like—because it IS—the beef we know and love. I’ll try it as soon as it’s available.