MeatUp – engineering the future of whole-meat cuts by biomanufacturing

A major societal challenge in a growing world population is the increasing demand for sustainable food and nutrition. However, conventional, industrial-scale mass farming requires massive resources of land, water and nutrients to grow animals for meat consumption. This causes drastic negative consequences for the planet, for animal welfare and for human health. The emerging field of cellular agriculture aims to replace a major part of current livestock with lab-based methods of cell-generated proteins and other nutrients, applying principles of muscle and fat tissue engineering. If the field wants true transformation and wider consumer acceptance, however, improvement of taste and texture is crucial. We aim for biomanufacturing of whole meat-cuts towards beef steak mimics. Main challenges on that path are the limited availability of edible, animal-free materials for cell culture, and the limited 3D tissue differentiation. In our interdisciplinary MeatUp approach, we target scalable production of whole cuts by combining expertise from bioprocess engineering, biomaterials, 3D cell culture strategies and biofabrication, complemented by applied research and industrial experience. Specifically, we explore innovative approaches to material production and biomass processing, scale up cell differentiation using novel edible microgels with enhanced diffusion capacity (WP1), and apply green extraction techniques to obtain sustainable biopolymers beyond plain alginate (WP2). Further, we use core-shell patterned filaments to apply myogenic and adipogenic differentiation factors in a spatially defined manner to fat and muscle tissue zones. Integrating these materials and biofabrication techniques into bioreactor systems (WP3) will enable a smoother transition from cell culture to tissue maturation, a key step towards market-ready cultivated meat.