A Visual Guide to the Science Behind Cultured Meat – Visual Capitalist

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The following content is sponsored by CULT Food Science (CSE: CULT)
 

Cultured foods—also known as cell-based foods—are expected to turn our global food system as we know it on its head.
In fact, the cultured meat market is estimated to reach an eye-watering $25 billion by 2030 according to McKinsey, but only if it can overcome hurdles such as price parity and consumer acceptance. To do so, significant innovation in the science behind these products will be crucial for the industry’s growth.
In the graphic above from our sponsor CULT Food Science, we provide a visual overview of some of the technologies behind the creation of cultured meat products.
To start, cultured meat is defined as a genuine animal meat product that is created by cultivating animal cells in a controlled lab environment—eliminating the need to farm animals for food almost entirely.
“Cultured meat has all the same fat, muscles, and tendons as any animal…All this can be done with little or no greenhouse gas emissions, aside from the electricity you need to power the land where the process is done.”
—Bill Gates
Because cultured meat is made of the same cell types and structure found in animal tissue, the sensory and nutritional profiles are like-for-like. Let’s dive into how these products are made.
The main challenge facing the cultured meat market is producing products at scale. But thanks to the vast amount of research in the stem cell biology space, the science behind cultured foods is not entirely new.
Given that we are in the very early days of applying these learnings to producing food products, those looking to invest in companies contributing to the industry’s growth stand to benefit. Here is an overview of some of the technologies that underpin the industry that you should know:
This is the process of using living cells and their components to create new products. According to experts like the Good Food Institute, bioprocess design holds the key to unlocking cultured meat production at scale.
Specifically, innovation in bioreactor (where the cells grow) design represents a massive opportunity for companies and investors alike.
Tissue engineering techniques are used to produce cultured meat that resembles real meat textures and flavors. The first step is taking tissue from the animal for the purpose of extracting stem cells and creating cell lines.
The extracted stem cell lines are then cultivated in a nutrient rich environment, mimicking in-animal tissue growth and producing muscle fibers inside a bioreactor. The muscle fibers are processed and mixed with additional fats and ingredients to assemble the finished meat product.
Cell lines refer to the different types of cells that can be propagated repeatedly and sometimes indefinitely.
Access to cell lines is a major challenge facing the industry today and is an area that requires significantly more research. This is because there is not just one cell type that can be used in cellular agriculture to produce cultured food products.
Cells (or cell cultures) require very specific environmental conditions. Cell culture media is a gel or liquid that contains the nutrients needed to support growth outside of the body.
More research in this space is needed to determine optimized formulations and make these products more affordable.
Scaffolds are 3D cell culture platforms that mimic the structure of complex biological tissues, such as skeletal muscle. This platforms can be created through the use of 3D Bioprinting.
Scaffolds are predominantly made up of collagen and gelatin. The problem is these are both animal-derived ingredients which defeats the purpose of cell-based products. Therefore, more sustainable plant-derived options are also being explored.
CULT Food Science is an innovative investment platform advancing the technology behind the future of food with an exclusive focus on cultured meat, cultured dairy, and cell-based foods.
The company’s global portfolio spans four continents and includes exposure to a diverse pipeline:
>>>Want to stay updated? Click here to subscribe to the CULT Food Science mailing list.
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The U.S. alone generates ∼12 million tons of asphalt shingles tear-off waste and installation scrap every year and more than 90% of it is dumped into landfills.
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Asphalt, also known as bitumen, has various applications in the modern economy, with annual demand reaching 110 million tons globally.
Until the 20th century, natural asphalt made from decomposed plants accounted for the majority of asphalt production. Today, most asphalt is refined from crude oil.
This graphic, sponsored by Northstar Clean Technologies, shows how new technologies to reuse and recycle asphalt can help protect the environment.
Pollution from vehicles is expected to decline as electric vehicles replace internal combustion engines.
But pollution from asphalt could actually increase in the next decades because of rising temperatures in some parts of the Earth. When subjected to extreme temperatures, asphalt releases harmful greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere.
Asphalt paved surfaces and roofs make up approximately 45% and 20% of surfaces in U.S. cities, respectively. Furthermore, 75% of single-family detached homes in Canada and the U.S. have asphalt shingles on their roofs.
Similar to roads, asphalt shingles have oil as the primary component, which is especially harmful to the environment.
Shingles do not decompose or biodegrade. The U.S. alone generates ∼12 million tons of asphalt shingles tear-off waste and installation scrap every year and more than 90% of it is dumped into landfills, the equivalent of 20 million barrels of oil.
But most of it can be reused, rather than taking up valuable landfill space.
Using technology, the primary components in shingles can be repurposed into liquid asphalt, aggregate, and fiber, for use in road construction, embankments, and new shingles.
Providing the construction industry with clean, sustainable processing solutions is also a big business opportunity. Canada alone is a $1.3 billion market for recovering and reprocessing shingles.
Northstar Clean Technologies is the only public company that repurposes 99% of asphalt shingles components that otherwise go to landfills.
Here is what you need to know about PANS/PANDAS, and how your donations can help find a cure for these autoimmune disorders.
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Picture this—one moment, you have a healthy, carefree child. Then, overnight, your child becomes a different person. Now they’re moody, anxious, aggressive, compulsively obsessing over trivial things, or restricting their eating.
If this sounds familiar, your child may have Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) or Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Disease (PANDAS).
This graphic, sponsored by the PACE Foundation, shares six important facts you should know about PANS/PANDAS, and illustrates how your individual or corporate donations could help cure these autoimmune disorders.
PANS and PANDAS are types of Children’s Postinfectious Autoimmune Encephalopathy (CPAE), which is when your immune system stops functioning properly and starts attacking healthy cells in your body.
These particular autoimmune disorders are triggered by an infection such as strep throat or other streptococcal infections. Below, we’ll dive into six important things to know if you think your child is suffering from either of these autoimmune disorders.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), PANS/PANDAS is considered a pediatric disorder because it’s most commonly found in children from age three to puberty.
While occurrences in teenagers and adults are possible, they’re extremely rare based on current research. Children that develop PANS/PANDAS are believed to be genetically susceptible to it.
PANS/PANDAs cannot be detected in a lab or with a blood test.
Rather, these disorders are detected through a clinical diagnosis, which means they’re identified by observing the symptoms of a patient, combined with their medical history.
The most common signs of PANS/PANDAS are a sudden onset of OCD, severe separation anxiety, vocal or motor tics, or restricted eating.
It can be difficult to diagnose PANS/PANDAS since symptoms are similar to other disorders, like ADHD or bipolar.
A key characteristic of PANS/PANDAS that differentiates it from ADHD or bipolar disorder is its sudden onset, meaning symptoms appear rapidly, or seem to come out of nowhere.
PANS/PANDAS is believed to be triggered by a misdirected autoimmune response to a variety of infectious diseases.
PANDAS is linked to streptococcal infections like strep throat, while PANS is thought to be triggered by a range of infections or inflammatory reactions.
Treatment for these autoimmune disorders varies, depending on the severity of the symptoms. Some patients take antibiotics, while others need a mix of antibiotics and psychiatric treatments.
Catching and treating PANS/PANDAS early could make a world of difference to your child’s mental health.
According to Dr. Sue Swedo, former Chief of Development Pediatrics at SNIMH, some preliminary studies indicate that early treatment and proper use of antibiotic prophylaxis may prevent 25-30% of childhood mental illnesses.
The PACE Foundation in collaboration with major medical universities and health institutions in the U.S. has facilitated and promoted special PANS/PANDAS clinics and world-class research to treat patients with these disorders and help eventually cure these very serious diseases.
The PACE Foundation has made significant contributions to increase awareness, explore treatment options, and invest in research into these autoimmune disorders. Some key moments for the organization over the last decade include:
While the PACE Foundation has made remarkable progress in a short amount of time, financial assistance is needed in order for the non-profit to achieve its research goals, and ultimately cure PANS/PANDAS.
>>>Click here to donate.
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