Historic, first-ever sale of cultivated meat is a huge step, but more investment is needed to bring it to the masses, says GFI Executive

As Eat Just makes the world’s first sale of cultivated chicken, The Good Food Institute calls for more government investment to ensure cultivated meat can be produced in volumes that will enable it to move beyond a niche product to being sold in every restaurant in the world.

“This is a powerful sign of our progress on the journey to a new future for meat,” said The Good Food Institute Executive Director Bruce Friedrich. “The world-first sale and serving of cultivated meat demonstrates the feasibility of this technology, and the Singapore government is doing all it can to advance this better way of making meat.”

“This is a big step forward, but bringing cultivated meat to the masses will require significantly more government investment. Just like governments support renewable energy and vaccine development, governments should be funding open-access cultivated meat science and innovation. The more that happens, the quicker we’ll see cultivated meat produced at volumes that will enable it to be sold in every restaurant in the world.” Friedrich said.

“We hope this sets off a global space-race level response from governments. Shifting away from industrial animal agriculture and toward plant-based and cultivated meat represents one of humanity’s most promising solutions for tackling climate change. Singapore and Israel are leading the way on this transition and China, the EU, and the United States need to catch up,” he said.

“This is a tremendous time for alternative proteins, when two nations have publicly thrown their support behind cultivated meat. Last week, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu ate cultivated meat and declared that Israel would be a global leader on alternative proteins. Now, Singapore is the first country where cultivated meat is being sold. This is a very big deal for the future of meat production globally.”

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“The sale of cultivated meat to consumers is a historic milestone and a powerful symbol of what is possible when forward-thinking government leaders move efficiently to usher in the future of meat,” said Elaine Siu, Managing Director of The Good Food Institute Asia Pacific. “Now that Singapore has proven it can be done, it’s time for other countries to invest the significant scientific resources needed to bring this safe and sustainable dining experience to every restaurant in the world.”

Photo: Cultivated chicken bite
Photo credit: Eat Just, Inc.

Media inquiries: Maia Keerie at The Good Food Institute on maiak@gfi.org or +1 (415) 767-8973

The Good Food Institute (GFI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working internationally to make alternative proteins delicious, affordable, and accessible.