Great question! So the basic medium composition itself is fairly simple, but the growth factors can be difficult to make. There are many places along the supply chain that are strained due to recent events. Because of this, procuring the food is somewhat difficult, but should become easier in the future. Many companies within cultivated meat (such as Heuros, Multus, Future Fields) are also working on animal-free growth factors by using precision fermentation. Precision fermentation is essentially beer brewing, but the yeast is genetically modified to produce a certain growth factor. As for being green, the industry is trending towards trying to find ways to utilize plants as much as possible across production phases. Eventually, besides the initial cells, most cultivated meat production could rely on common plants for the nutrients and growth factors for the cells. This could drastically decrease overall emissions, and even make the products carbon-negative.
As someone who is eating closer to organic these days, the concept of lab grown meat is more horrifying to me than factory farming. That said, we try to eat the highest welfare meat we can find, which is typically slaughtered by family members.
How can all the chemicals and sterilising agents ever be more safe for consumption and environmentally friendly than animal grown alternatives?
