High Steaks: IP Trends in the Cultured Meat Industry

By: Gaby L. Longsworth, Ph.D. and Kristofer R. Schroder

From the mastering of fire to the genome, innovation has been the key driver of humanity’s growth throughout history. Innovation has allowed humankind to triumph over the countless challenges that have been encountered during human existence. Among the issues facing humanity as we grow are food security and climate change.

The globe’s population is expected to increase to nearly 10 billion during the next 30 years. Most of this increase will take place in Africa and Western Asia, regions that already suffer from hunger and malnutrition. In tandem with this population growth, adverse effects of climate change raise challenges for these regions. Climate change is largely driven by the emission of greenhouse gases. Currently, 15% of total such emissions comprise agriculture and associated waste, with most of the emissions coming from livestock, fertilisers, and municipal waste. To address some of these challenges, innovation has arrived in the form of stem cell cultured meat.