What role will cellular agriculture play in the future of food for Canada?
Cellular agriculture consists of a suite of technologies for producing meat and dairy alternatives using cell cultures and (in the case of dairy) fermentation techniques. Currently, cellular agriculture products are not widely commercially available; however, the technologies and techniques are advancing quickly, and these products will enter Canadian food markets and increase in prevalence over the next few years. FAI conducts research on cellular agriculture, such as a study on the implications of proliferating a cellular agriculture industry in British Columbia in terms of local and global social, economic, and environmental impacts. The Institute has plans for further research; for example, it plans to explore the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches for building a cellular industry in the Fraser Valley (e.g., centralizing the industry in Abbotsford or encouraging the development of smaller operations throughout the region).
Learn more about the FAI's cellular agriculture research projects:
• Local Cellular Agriculture
• Learning Exchange
• Policy Implications
Publications
Evan, F., Kaplan, D., Newman, L., & Yada, R. Y. (Eds.). (2023). Cellular Agriculture: Technology, Society, Sustainability and Science (1st ed.). Elsevier Academic Press.
Glaros, A., Newell, R., Fraser, E., & Newman, L. (2023). Socio-economic futures for cellular agriculture: The development of a novel framework. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 970369.
Glaros, A., Newell, R., Ruder, S-L., Mukiri, J., & Pizzirani, S. (2023). Cellular Agriculture Futures: A survey of public perceptions in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia.
Mendly-Zambo, Z., Powell, L., & Newman, L. (2021). Dairy 3.0: cellular agriculture and the future of milk. Food, Culture & Society.
Newell, R., Glaros, A., Pizzirani, S., & Newman, L. (2023). The Role of Cellular Agriculture in Sustainable, Resilient and Just Food Systems: An Action Agenda.
Newman, L., Fraser, E., Newell, R., Bowness, E., Newman, K., & Glaros, A. (2023). Cellular agriculture and the sustainable development goals. In Genomics and the Global Bioeconomy (pp. 3–23). Elsevier.
Newman, L., Newell, R., Mendly-Zambo, Z., & Powell, L. (2021). Bioengineering, telecoupling, and alternative dairy: Agricultural land use futures in the Anthropocene. The Geographical Journal.
Newman, L. (2020). The promise and peril of “cultured meat”. In Katz-Rosene, R. M., & Martin, S. J. (Eds.), Green Meat?: Sustaining Eaters Animals and the Planet (pp. 169-184). McGill-Queen's University Press.
Powell, L., Mendly-Zambo, Z., & Newman, L. (2023). Perceptions and acceptance of yeast-derived dairy in British Columbia, Canada. Frontiers Sustainable Food System 7:1127652.