What is cultured meat? In short, it’s animal protein that is grown from animal muscle cells through tissue culture in controlled laboratory conditions. We catch up with Matt Anderson-Baron, Co-Founder of FutureFields – a start-up company focused on producing the growth media that grows cultured meat.
In Episode 1 Matt talks about the “Eureka Moment” that convinced him to take the leap from academic cell biology research into entrepreneurship. Many research academics wonder whether or not they should “cross the line” to commercialize their innovations with industry (sometimes referred to as going to the “dark side” by research purists).
Matt simply saw this as a way to use his knowledge and research acumen and skills as another way to provide an alternative protein source to meet the worlds current and future food demands.
Is cultured meat the livestock agriculture’s lab-based equivalent to the vertical farming movement?
Stay tuned for Episode 2 as Matt shares how their product is used in growing cultured meat – a new way to produce animal protein for the food industry sector.
About Matthew Anderson-Baron
Co-Founder & Director of Research, Future Fields
Matt obtained his PhD in cell biology at the University of Alberta. Following his graduate studies, Matt held a postdoctoral position in one of Canada’s top tissue engineering labs. He has extensive experience with cell culture, molecular cloning, tissue engineering, and genetics. During his graduate studies, Matt discovered the field of cellular agriculture and was the recipient of a New Harvest seed grant to study the lipid components of fetal bovine serum. While the majority of his academic career has been spent in disease-based research, his passion for science and love of animals has inspired his pursuit of cellular agriculture.
About Future Fields
Future Fields was started by a group of Canadian innovators working to expand the reach of cellular agriculture into accessible consumer products. They are currently developing an inexpensive and effective serum-free growth media for producing cultured meat. Through the commercialization of cellular agriculture, we aim to shift the demand for traditional agricultural practices to a sustainable level. We envision a future where food can be produced with minimal use of land or animals.
