Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 28 February 2019
Israeli startups join firms making lab-grown 'clean meat'

By ILAN BEN ZION Jerusalem's Hebrew Uni-
Associated Press versity, and SuperMeat are
NES ZIONA, Israel (AP) — among those combining
Several Israeli start-ups animal cells and plant pro-
have joined a handful of teins as a potential alterna-
companies around the tive to processed meats.
globe trying to develop Aleph Farms, an Israeli
lab-grown meat, some- start-up launched in 2017,
thing they see as a solution announced in December
to the needs of the world's it succeeded in produc-
ever-growing population ing a lab-grown "minute
and burgeoning demand steak" made from bovine
for food. cells that closely resembles
The product has been the texture and flavor of its
known under different cow-borne counterpart.
names, including cultured For now, the tiny steaks are
meat, in-vitro or artificial just 3 millimeters (a tenth of
and "clean meat" — a term an inch) wide — roughly
advocates say underscores the size of a very thin strip
its environment-friendly na- of roast beef.
ture. It's basically made of Each Israeli player has
animal muscle cells grown raised several million dollars
in a culture in a lab, a tech- This Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, shows a lab-grown steak during a presentation by the Israeli in early investment, includ-
nology similar to stem cells. company Aleph Farms, in Jaffa, Israel. ing from major food manu-
And while "synthetic steaks" Associated Press factures such as U.S. giant
are perhaps not a candi- Tyson Foods, Germany's
date for everyone's favorite generate around 13 per- of lab-grown meat was a cally for what we call alter- PHW Group, and Israel's
dish, they could someday cent of global greenhouse natural avenue for its entre- native protein," said Beni Strauss Group.
compete with convention- gas emissions, with livestock preneurs, experts say. The Nofech, a board member The first lab-grown burger
al chicken or beef, an af- alone responsible for two- government's Innovation at the institute. "Israel is was made by a Dutch
fordable price tag permit- thirds of those emissions, Authority has also sought to such an innovation-driven company in 2013 at a cost
ting. according to the United stimulate food-technology economy and infrastruc- of over $300,000. Produc-
"Producing meat is very Nations' Food and Agricul- companies through grants ture, both governmental tion costs have fallen in
inefficient," said Yaakov ture Organization. and the financing of a $25 and private, is already in the years since. Last year,
Nahmias, a bioengineering For Israel, the advances are million food-tech incuba- place to actually catalyze U.S.-based Memphis Meats'
professor at Hebrew Univer- a far cry from the country's tor. innovation and research." ground beef alternative
sity and founder of Future early decades, when meat Israel currently imports The industry still faces some was reported to cost about
Meat Technologies. Cul- was rationed. much of its meat and the significant hurdles, includ- $2,400 per pound. Each
tured meat, by compari- In fact, Israel is quickly be- government is invested in ing astronomical cost, de- slice of Aleph Farms' "steak"
son, consumes "10 times coming "the leader in the creating food security. velopmental challenges, costs about $50 to pro-
less water, less land, less en- space, or (is) side-by-side For observant Jews, sev- regulatory issues and ques- duce. Before it can hit the
ergy than the current meat with Silicon Valley" in cul- eral prominent Orthodox tions about whether peo- shelves, lab-grown meat
production." tured meat technologies, rabbis have already ex- ple are ready to eat lab- will face regulatory obsta-
Advocates say lab-grown said Alex Shirazi, co-found- pressed approval for lab- grown meat. cles. The U.S. government's
meat is flavorful and better er of the Cultured Meat grown meat being kosher. Until now, most companies FDA and USDA announced
for the environment than and Future Food podcast Because it doesn't come involved in the effort have in November they would
conventional meat. They and a founder of the Cul- from a slaughtered animal, only managed to produce "jointly oversee the produc-
say it consumes less water, tured Meat Symposium, an some rabbis have even fleshy granules. tion of cell-cultured food
energy and land, produces industry gathering in San said cultured meat could Future Meat Technologies, products derived from live-
less greenhouse gases and Francisco in November. be consumed as a cheese- a company based out of stock and poultry."q
reduces animal suffering. Israel has a thriving high- burger — a combination of
Agriculture is estimated to tech scene, so the pursuit meat and milk otherwise
forbidden in Jewish tradi-
tion.
In February, the Good Food
Institute, a Washington-
based non-profit promoting
the development of meat
alternatives, announced
a series of research grants
"for the benefit of the entire
scientific community and
good food industry."
One of the six $250,000
grants for "clean meat" re-
searchers went to Israel,
and a second Israeli re-
searcher received funds for
In this Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, chef Amir Ilan prepares "plant-based" meat alter- This Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, shows a a first lab-grown
a lab-grown steak during a presentation by the Israeli company natives. steak during a presentation by the Israeli company Aleph
Aleph Farms, in Jaffa, Israel. "Israel is a fertile ground for Farms, in Jaffa, Israel.
Associated Press Associated Press
tech in general and specifi-