How scaffolds can help the cultivated meat industry take off

At the time of writing, the cultivated meat industry is still at a nascent stage, especially where its commercialization is concerned. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest barriers towards its commercial viability is the cost of producing cultivated cells. In the biomedical industry, where cells are manufactured for therapeutic purposes, the cost of cell culture can be offset by the high value in utilisation of the product, and its corresponding high profit margin. In contrast, meat is a commodity item, therefore, low to no consumer uptake is expected for cultivated meat products that are multiple times more expensive that of farmed animal meat.

It is hardly debated that the first successful cultivated meat products to hit the shelves would be hybrid products, comprising a blend of animal and plant protein. Proponents of the hybrid meat concept often use the analogy of hybrid vehicles to explain its value. Early consumers are more likely to be assured when driving a hybrid vehicle, as compared to a fully electric vehicle. For manufacturers, the gradual shift to electrical components and accessories is also beneficial, as development can take place at its own pace, as long the hybrid version can generate revenue.

What is not clear as yet is the exact process by which these blends will be created. In my opinion, for a hint to the answer, one can again look at the development of electric vehicles via an intermediate, hybrid stage. A fully electric vehicle must be able to perform all the functions that a vehicle with an internal combustion engine can. In the same way, it makes sense that a fully cultivated meat product must have all the features as the meat from animal agriculture, which include flavour, texture and nutritional value. By the same argument, the intermediate hybrid meat must also have some of the features, while helping in the development and perfection of these features.

In my opinion, hybrid meat that is produced via cultivation of cells on scaffolds will meet that requirement. The quality of tissue engineered muscle tissue will improve as the fraction of cells that make up the product increases. This is because the cells are engineered to form structures such as muscle fibers, that provide texture to the final product. While other processes may also be able to attain increased meaty flavour and nutritional value by increasing the cellular fraction, they may not be able to do the same with texture.