BECAUSE, ANIMALS: Lab-grown cat food soon to hit supermarket shelves
Cats will be the first to benefit from a new 'ancestral' diet according to the company which has cultured cells from the ears of mice rescued from a research facility, now retired and living with the son of one of the scientists.
MICHAEL DAHLSTROM: With growing consumer concern about traditional agriculture’s impact on animal welfare and the environment, US-based Because, Animals are aiming to release a premium alternative. Grown in an environment free of pathogens, cell-based meat can be created without the use of antibiotics, which are used extensively in traditional animal agriculture, the company’s CEO Shannon Falconer said.
“We’re creating it in a way that’s actually pretty similar to the way probiotics, for example, are grown,” she told Yahoo News Australia. “(It will be) inside a bioreactor where we feed the cells all the nutrients they need.” Cats will be the first to benefit from a new “ancestral” diet according to the company which has cultured cells from the ears of mice rescued from a research facility.
By using mouse flesh, they hope to reduce allergens which cats often suffer from as a result of consuming beef and chicken. “In making cultured meat, we really saw this as an opportunity to create the protein from the meat source that is most evolutionarily appropriate for them,” Ms Falconer said. While the mice used in the project are now retired and living with the son of one of the scientists, their cells will be used to grow an indefinite amount of protein.
Because, Animals has received $6.7 million in funding to date, including investment announced this year from Norwegian conglomerate Orkla. The company aims to initially release their product in the US, with a view to expand into European and Asian markets.
Like most jurisdictions, regulatory hurdles reman in Australia, with the Department of Agriculture confirming cell-based animal feed is yet to receive a biosecurity assessment. “The department’s regulation of Australian animal feed producers does not currently support imports of materials or components that could be used to produce laboratory grown meat in Australia to be fed to pets or livestock,” a spokesperson said. SOURCE…
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