What if the ingredients for a juicy steak were produced emission-free in a laboratory instead of slaughtering a cow? How does producing egg white without eggs sound?
Futuristic, but from member companies of the Finnish startup community Solar Foodsin and One Bion technologies make this possible. Both companies are rising stars in cellular agriculture.
In cellular agriculture, food is produced by utilizing microbes, animal or plant cells. Cells produced as food or raw material are grown in bioreactors that look like steel tanks. Production requires energy and it is available in Finland at a reasonable price and from renewable sources.
Money is needed for industrial scaling
Cell agriculture disconnects food production from physical constraints, such as the adequacy of arable land and weather conditions. It also makes it possible to increase domestic food production, reduce emissions, improve security of supply and increase Finland’s export income.
The development of technology needs public money, especially for the construction of pilot plants operating on an industrial scale, because this is exactly where the availability of private money is limited. In addition, new food sales permits must be obtained faster than at present. For a startup company, a long waiting time can mean bankruptcy.
Global food production accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and 72 percent of surface and groundwater is used for agriculture. On top of all that, the demand for food is estimated to grow by up to 46 percent between 2010 and 2050.
As global living standards rise and hundreds of millions of people rise from poverty, the demand for food will certainly increase. With the help of cellular agriculture, emissions could be cut and the supply of food could be increased at the same time.
“The size of the world’s food market is 9,400 billion euros.”
In its current form, food production is dependent on weather conditions and the world market fluctuates along with the security environment. Climate warming is making food production more difficult, and significant food price fluctuations have been seen as a result of Russia’s war of aggression.
In my opinion, there is a risk that the destabilization of food production will be used as an instrument of warfare in the future, which is why the role of domestic production made possible by cellular agriculture will increase.
Billions are spent on food
Finland’s food exports are about two billion euros a year, and its imports are five billion. The global volumes of food production are so large that, with the help of new technology, Finland could garner significant export and tax revenues.
The size of the world food market is 9,400 billion euros per year Export potential exists not only in production but also in the technology itself, which would increase Finland’s climate footprint according to the government program.
The author is the chief economist of the Finnish startup community.
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