Meat from Cells, Not Animals
Cellular agriculture is the production of commodities (e.g., meat, dairy) from cell cultures rather than whole organisms. For example, meat can be grown by culturing muscle cells and fat cells from livestock species in bioreactors - instead of breeding, raising, and slaughtering animals. Cultured meat technology is similar to the technology used today for synthetic biology, recombinant protein production, and cell therapies. Any animal product (e.g., eggs, collagen) can theoretically be made from cellular agriculture. Developing and scaling such innovations could alleviate many of the negative externalities associated with traditional food production systems such as public health epidemics, environmental degradation, and animal welfare concerns.
Natalie Rubio, Cellular Agriculture Scientist @Ark Biotech
Natalie Rubio is a Cellular Agriculture Scientist & New Harvest Research Fellow, having recently graduated from Tufts University with a Ph.D. Cellular Agriculture/Biomedical Engineering. Her graduate research focused on engineering and characterizing cultured meat from unconventional cell types as well as serum-free media development, scaffold fabrication and organoleptic analysis. She has broad and extensive experience in cellular agriculture and cultured meat throughout the non-profit (New Harvest), academic (Tufts University, University of Colorado, Boulder) and start-up (Perfect Day Foods, Bond Pet Foods, Matrix Meats) sectors. She currently works at Ark Biotech, a Boston-based start-up designing bioreactors and operating systems for cultured meat.