Review: Will "cultured meat" transform our food system towards more sustainability?

Our agri-food system today should provide enough healthy food of good quality for the growing human population. However, it should also preserve natural resources and better protect livestock. In this context, some FoodTech companies are developing a disruptive approach: cell culture for in vitro food production of "meat" but this technology is still at the research and development stage. This article will highlight its development, the technologies used and the stakeholders involved (Part 1), its potential environmental impacts (Part 2) but also regulatory, social and ethical issues (Part 3). This article aims to shed light throughout the manuscript on two major controversies related to "cultured meat". The first controversy is related to its ethical aspects, which includes different points: its potential to reduce animal suffering and therefore to improve animal welfare, the future values of our society, and a trend towards food artificialisation. The second controversy includes environmental, health and nutritional issues, in relation to the characteristics and quality of "cultured meat" with an important question: should we call it meat? These two controversies act in interaction in association with related societal, legal and consequently political issues. Answers to the various questions depend on the different visions of the World by stakeholders, consumers and citizens. Some of them argue for a moderate or a strong reduction in livestock farming, or even the abolition of livestock farming perceived as an exploitation of farm animals. Others just want a reduction of the current much criticised intensive/industrial model. Compared with other potential sustainable solutions to be implemented such as reduction of food losses and waste, new food consumption habits with less proteins of animal sources, sustainable intensification, development of agroecological livestock production, or the development of the market for other meat substitutes (proteins from plants, mycoproteins, algae, insects, etc.), "cultured meat" has an uncertain future.

Consumer perception of "artificial meat" in the educated young and urban population of Africa.

African's population is expected to grow especially in cities to reach about 2.5 billion in 2050. This will create an unprecedented boom in the demand for animal products over the coming years which will need to be managed properly. Industry stakeholders worldwide have been touting the potential benefits of "artificial meat" in recent years as a more sustainable way of producing animal protein. "Artificial meat" is therefore moving into the global spotlight and this study aimed to investigate how African meat consumers of the coming generations perceive it, i.e., the urban, more educated and younger consumers. Three surveys were conducted with more than 12,000 respondents in total. The respondents came from 12 different countries (Cameroon, Congo, -DRC Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia). Respondents in this survey prefered the term "artificial meat". This term was therefore used throughout the survey. "Artificial meat" proved to be fairly well known in the surveyed countries as about 64% the respondents had already heard of "artificial meat." Only 8.9% were definitely willing to try "artificial meat" (score of 5 on a scale of 1-5) mostly males between 31 and 50 years of age. Furthermore, 31.2% strongly agreed that "artificial meat" will have a negative impact on the rural life (score of 5 on a scale of 1-5) and 32.9% were not prepared to accept "artificial meat" as a viable alternative in the future but were still prepared to eat meat alternatives. Of all the results, we observed significant differences in responses between respondents' countries of origin, age and education level with interactions between these factors for willingness to try. For instance, the richest and most educated countries that were surveyed tended to be more willing to try "artificial meat." A similar pattern was observed for willingness to pay, except that gender had no significant effect and age had only a small effect. One major observation is that a large majority of respondents are not willing to pay more for "artificial meat" than for meat from livestock.

Policy frameworks and regulations for the research and development of cell-based meats: Systematic literature review.

Cell-based meats have been discussed in terms of improving sensory factors for consumer acceptance and remedying the environmental problems of conventional livestock production. The improvement accompanies the modification of the production process and the consumption habit regarding cell-based meats. This review analyzed the current status of policies that promote cell-based meats, the related literature, and policy frameworks for the regulation and promotion of cell-based meats in the European Union, Singapore, the United States, Israel, and Japan. Sample selection was based on language, that is, English and Japanese. Further selection was exploratory to analyze the diverse degree of the integration of cell-based meats in policies. The region and countries were selected as leading cases, thereby enabling a policy comparison because they host global corporations that produce cell-based meat. The literature review examined peer-reviewed social science articles from 2013 to early 2022 on policies that promote cell-based meats. The results of the policy surveys revealed that regulations focused on the safety of and measures to display these novel foods by conducting a premarket assessment. These regulations are the basis for developing cell-based meats. Furthermore, some countries and the region being studied justified their support for cell-based meats by implementing action plans for decarbonization and food security. However, unclear communication regarding the nomenclature of cell-based meats is likely to slow down the development of cell-based meats. Moreover, religious beliefs and other cultural perceptions, including animal welfare, leave much room to research such promotion. Similarly, environmental impact assessments of cell-based meats demand further considerations and discussions to accompany evidence-based policymaking for cell-based meats.

New vegetable-waste biomaterials by Lupin albus L. as cellular scaffolds for applications in biomedicine and food.

The reprocessing of vegetal-waste represents a new research field in order to design novel biomaterials for potential biomedical applications and in food industry. Here we obtained a biomaterial from Lupinus albus L. hull (LH) that was characterized micro-structurally by scanning electron microscopy and for its antimicrobial and scaffolding properties. A good adhesion and proliferation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) seeded on LH scaffold were observed. Thanks to its high content of cellulose and beneficial phytochemical substances, LH and its derivatives can represent an available source for fabrication of biocompatible and bioactive scaffolds. Therefore, a reprocessing protocol of LH was optimized for producing a new LH bioplastic named BPLH. This new biomaterial was characterized by chemico-physical analyses. The water uptake, degradability and antimicrobial properties of BPLH were evaluated, as well as the mechanical properties. A good adhesion and proliferation of both fibroblasts and hMSCs on BPLH were observed over 2 weeks, and immunofluorescence analysis of hMSCs after 3 weeks indicates an initial commitment toward muscle differentiation. Our work represents a new approach toward the recovery and valorization of the vegetal waste showing the remarkable properties of LH and BPLH as cellular waste-based scaffold with potential applications in cell-based food field as well as in medicine for topical patches in wound healing and bedsores treatment.