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Hi friend,
Nine years ago today, the cell-cultured hamburger developed under the supervision of Dr. Mark Post at Maastricht University was tasted before a studio audience in London.
This burger, and the fanfare around its tasting, made it feel like a world where animals need not be killed for food was surely around the corner.
Sure there have been tastings, and even products on the market (from one company, in Singapore), but it is very safe to say that we are still a ways away from actively displacing animal agriculture.
Here’s what I believe stands in the way of cellular agriculture’s success: Public open infrastructure.
Yes, there have been over 100 companies around the world working to advance cellular agriculture since this burger was tasted. But when every company is working within their own walls, with minimal sharing of ideas, results, and data—progress is inevitably slowed and redundant. This work needs more than private sector investment to progress.
New technologies like cellular agriculture simply can not progress without common frameworks, foundational knowledge, and tools and techniques open to businesses and researchers alike.
This is where we introduce OpenCellAg.com, a critical initiative we have been working on in partnership with CULT Food Science.
This first-of-its-kind network of excellence is designed to advance foundational knowledge and tools for the cellular agriculture industry. Think of it as the public-private partnership clearinghouse for the field. It’s the infrastructure purpose-built for cellular agriculture, outside of the classic bounds of academia.
The burger of nine years ago gave us a glimpse of what was possible at the product level. But to make that product possible at scale, we need a global, coordinated effort. A new, structural approach to making research progress.
Take a gander at the website. If you’re able to contribute to open infrastructure in cell ag, let us know. We need all hands on deck.
Until next time,
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