Building a Shared Voice: The Launch of Cellular Agriculture Europe

After our co-founders Mark Post and Peter Verstrate introduced the world to the first cultivated hamburger in 2013, we’ve been proud to see over 70 companies formed so far using this innovative technology to transform the global food system. Mosa Meat wants to see the entire industry flourish, all the way from research and development to grocery store meat counters, and this reflects in our decision-making at a company level.

On the way to regulatory approval, individual companies will have to manage their own product development and dossiers for food safety assessments. However, the mechanics around political authorizations in the European Commission (e.g. labelling requirements, conditions of use, educating key stakeholders) represent industry-wide challenges.

In 2020, led by our Chief Business Officer Tim van de Rijdt, we joined three other companies in an ambitious effort to bring the cellular agriculture industry in Europe together to build a shared voice and advocacy. We hired a team in Brussels and began organizing other companies to join us in setting up a new legal entity in Belgium known as Cellular Agriculture Europe. We are proud to share today that we have received our “royal decree” from King Philippe of Belgium to certify us as a legal industry association. 

‘We are excited to join 12 other companies in coming together as a maturing industry. We represent a range of products but share a common goal to advance cellular agriculture,’ shared Mosa Meat CEO Maarten Bosch. ‘Cellular Agriculture Europe is a great platform for collaboration and we look forward to leveraging our shared voice to educate stakeholders.’

Last Monday we held our first Annual General Meeting and officially adopted our mission, vision and values statements, as well as electing the first board of directors. Mosa Meat’s Head of Public Affairs, Robert E. Jones, will serve as the first President of the association for a two-year term. 

‘I am excited and honoured to serve as the first President of Cellular Agriculture Europe. Addressing the role the food system plays in the climate crisis is a pressing need. Cellular agriculture will add a powerful tool to the collective effort to create a healthier and greener food system in Europe’, shared Robert today. 

Collaborative work by the members has already begun with committees formed for strategic planning, regulatory affairs, and communications. In the new year, the association’s outreach efforts will expand to host meetings with key stakeholders in the EU ecosystem that have influence over the approval and adoption of cellular agriculture products. With a shared voice we can educate stakeholders, combat misinformation, set industry standards and lift up cellular agriculture as a critical addition to public policy frameworks like the European Green Deal and the Common Agricultural Policy.   

Beyond Europe, we hope our work together as an association in Brussels can serve as a model for companies around the world. Cellular agriculture represents a truly global opportunity to help reform our food systems and harmonized rules and regulations across geographies will only help to accelerate the adoption and scaling of cultivated meat, seafood, and ingredients for consumers. In the meantime, there is much work to be done and we are pleased to work with our colleagues in the industry through Cellular Agriculture Europe to advance our collective goals. 

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