Enabling cellular agriculture in Australia

Animal agriculture alone uses 35% of the Earth’s habitable land, the equivalent of North and South America combined.

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‍Globally, we are losing almost 3.75 million hectares of vegetation every year and around half of that due to cattle grazing.

‍Cellular agriculture manufacturing facilities will require fewer land resources, which will create an opportunity to stop and reverse this trend.

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Widespread deforestation and marine habitat destruction has resulted in an alarming loss of biodiversity across the planet.

For instance, wild animals now make up only 4% of the physical biomass of all mammals on the planet. The remainder is made up of humans and our domesticated/farmed animals.

By reducing our dependence on land and our oceans for food production, cellular agriculture can help to mitigate this problem.

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Food systems are responsible for up to 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. Animal agriculture alone comprises 14.5-20% of global emissions. (Source)

Compared to conventionally produced protein and ingredients, early indications suggest cellular agriculture will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Three-quarters of new or emerging infectious diseases come from animals and half of these are linked to livestock (source), with high instances of disease transmission occurring through meat, eggs, and dairy (source). 

At scale, cellular agriculture technologies takes place in food manufacturing facilities using tightly controlled production systems. This reduces the risk of spreading zoonotic diseases, which are a growing public health threat linked to conventional animal agriculture.

Additionally, antibiotic resistance is an emerging public health threat commonly linked to intensive animal agriculture (source). Cellular agriculture has the potential to mitigate this issue as a suite of production methods that don’t require the use of antibiotics.

Cellular agriculture could allow consumers to purchase animal-free foods without sacrificing quality, taste, or nutritional value. 

As cellular agriculture technologies scale up, they have the potential to significantly reduce the need for farmed animals in the food supply chain and mitigate associated animal welfare concerns.