Cellular Agriculture Australia

We’ve been working behind the scenes on something exciting - we are collaborating with Food Frontier at Alt Proteins 24 to bring you a participatory workshop on “Cultivating accountability - evidence gaps in cellular agriculture”! This follows our significant piece of research and analysis linked to the measurement, reporting, and communication of impact for the cellular agriculture sector in Australia. ( 📢 Stay tuned for our upcoming report on this!) The workshop will start by presenting our research findings before diving into a set of facilitated activities to explore the landscape of metrics and claims of relevance to the cellular agriculture industry. “Not only is it widely known that an impact-led strategy is good for business, this is a topic that the sector must get right if it is to build trust in investors, policymakers and consumers and truly demonstrate its impact potential,” says our CEO Sam Perkins. You can find out more about Alt Proteins 24 and get your tickets here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dF5nS3qp #cellag #cellularagriculture #accountability #ESG #AltProteins24

What can the alternative protein industry learn from the electric vehicle (EV) industry? 🚗 This is the question Boston Consulting Group (BCG) sought to answer in their recent publication 👉 https://lnkd.in/dSn2K6Bd “The success of electric vehicles shows how fast public and private investment can catalyze green innovation. Forward-thinking governments and food companies now have the opportunity to replicate that success for alternative proteins.” - Lewis Bollard, Program Director for Open Philanthropy. Key lessons for alternative proteins include 👇 💡 Encourage companies to innovate to achieve parity with animal protein EV companies have thrived by not only focusing on sustainability but also by innovating to match and surpass the qualities of petrol vehicles. Similarly, alternative proteins must meet consumer demands for taste, texture, price, and convenience. Innovations that offer enhanced nutrition and functional ingredients will provide additional advantages. As BCG states, “The goal is to make alternative proteins a choice rather than a compromise. This way, sustainability becomes a sweetener, not a sacrifice.” 💡 Build a supportive public sector Governments have played a crucial role in the EV industry's success through a four-pronged approach: setting ambitious targets, stimulating supply, driving demand, and addressing scale-up challenges. In 2022 alone, global governments provided USD $40 billion in direct purchase subsidies for EVs. A similar strategic approach is needed to accelerate the development and adoption of alternative proteins. 💡 Increase direct investment from public and private sector Building resilient supply chains for alternative proteins requires investment across the entire value chain. While EVs receive funding at all stages—from raw materials to charging infrastructure—the alternative protein industry faces significant funding gaps that must be addressed by both governments and investors.

It's awesome to see Nourish Ingredients partnering with dairy co-operative Fonterra 👏 This partnership is a clear example of bridging the gap between cellular agriculture and traditional food production to create value and opportunities for both companies. Encouragingly, this follows a promising shift toward traditional food production methods and cellular agriculture technologies being increasingly seen as ‘complementary.’ Notably, Fonterra also spun out Netherlands-based precision fermentation company Vivici in 2022. Congratulations Nourish Ingredients, we look forward to seeing what you do next! #cellag #cellularagirculture #futureoffood

Welcome to the last (but not least!) of our three new advisory committee members - Glen Neal! Glen has more than 20 years of experience in food regulation and biosecurity, which has developed his expertise in crisis and risk management. He is experienced in the regulation of novel foods, including cellular agriculture products. Notably, he served in the FAO Expert Committee that generated the UN/FAO’s flagship document ‘Food Safety Aspects of Cell-based Food’ and was an advisory board member of the Singapore Government’s Food Story Initiative. Currently, Glen is a partner at a boutique strategic advisory firm assisting a broad range of clients, including those working in alternative proteins, to manage compliance and regulatory risk, as well as stakeholder engagement. Glen’s deep-seated knowledge and experience of the food safety regulatory system will be invaluable to support CAA’s work in regulation, aiding the nascent cellular agriculture sector to navigate the path to market for novel foods. With the world facing a 40% protein deficit over the next 25 years, Glen believes in the importance of a need for a range of solutions, including cellular agriculture, to protect our food system and enable sovereign nations to be self-sufficient. Welcome Glen, we look forward to working with you to shape a favourable regulatory environment for cellular agriculture in Australia 💪

We are thrilled to welcome Dr Anna Barlow to our advisory committee 🌟 Anna is a seasoned expert in the food and agritech sectors, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to our advisory committee. Anna brings deep expertise in fast-moving consumer-goods (FMCGs), with previous roles spanning Asahi Beverages, JDE Coffee and Mondelēz International, and encompassing a range of food and beverage categories. As the cellular agriculture industry moves towards scale and the building of FMCG and retail partnerships becomes a priority, Anna’s expertise will be invaluable to the sector. As a current board member of FermenTasmania, a non-profit industry cluster for fermentation products in Australia, Anna also carries strong knowledge of the precision and gas fermentation space and regional landscape in Tasmania. In addition to this, Anna also serves as a startup mentor, currently leading the Food and Agri Innovation Vertical at Startupbootcamp. This experience arms Anna with a deep understanding of, and ability to relate to, the startups currently making up Australia’s cellular agriculture industry. We are confident that Anna’s insights and expertise will be incredibly valuable as we continue to innovate and grow. Welcome aboard, Anna!

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Today we welcome the first of our new advisory committee members - Dr James Ryall! James Ryall is a distinguished biotech consultant with over twenty years of expertise in cell biology, biomanufacturing, and regenerative medicine. His academic career at The University of Melbourne was marked by pioneering research in stem cell metabolism and muscle regeneration. This work resulted in numerous publications in prestigious journals, including Cell Stem Cell and Cell Metabolism. Transitioning from an illustrious academic career, James served as Chief Scientific Officer at Vow, where he spearheaded innovations in cultivated meat. James' transformative leadership at Vow catalysed significant growth, expanding the scientific team from just one to over 20 employees, and helping to secure over USD $55M in funding. Following the recent launch of his advisory and consulting service, James now advises diverse biotech companies employing biomanufacturing technologies to address significant global challenges. James brings exceptional technical and scientific expertise, deep knowledge of the sectoral landscape globally, and experience in one of the leading cultivated meats companies. His background will add technical depth and insight from within the sector to not only add value to our current work but also help position us to add the most value to the sector moving forward. We are delighted to be working with you, James!

An independent inquiry conducted by the Legislative Council Economy & Infrastructure Committee has highlighted cultivated meat as a key economic opportunity for Victoria! The Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee inquires into and reports on matters concerning agriculture, commerce, infrastructure, industry, major projects, public sector finances and transport. The inquiry, which focused on pig welfare in Victoria, listed cultivated meat as the first recommendation, citing its potential to provide ethical and environmentally sustainable food to Victorians and arguing that the industry should be recognised and supported by the Victorian Government. It's encouraging to see independent parliamentary documents such as this championing cultivated meat as a potential solution to current and emerging challenges facing our food system. Government recognition and support would be invaluable in building a thriving cultivated meat and broader cellular agriculture industry in Australia - that which is currently facing a number of challenges to scale-up and expansion.  Hats off to Georgie Purcell and the Legislative Committee for recognising the importance of this emerging industry 👏 Read the inquiry here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gF3g22yu

✨ Highlights of our year to date 👇 As we wrap up the first half of 2024, we’re excited to share some of our programmatic highlights over the past 6 months: ✋ Industry forums - Hosted impactful forums including workshops on trade and labelling of cultivated meat, and kicked off an industry consultation project aiming to reach consensus on precision fermentation nomenclature and messaging across the APAC region. We also led three working group meetings on food safety regulation. 🗣 Media guide - Launched our Media Guide and Media Cheat Sheet, which aim to support external stakeholders to communicate accurately and effectively about cellular agriculture. 📝 Submissions - Made three policy submissions, including a response to FSANZ’s public consultation on Vow’s cultured quail, the Australian Government's inquiry into food & beverage manufacturing in Australia, and the FSANZ Act Review. 🔎 Consumer research - Initiated a consumer research project in partnership with Deakin University, which will explore Australian consumer perceptions of cultivated meat & precision fermentation 🤝 Government engagement - We consolidated our approach and raised our profile in addressing the sector’s regulatory needs, and have significantly widened our engagement with decision-makers within Australian and state governments. 📧 Marketing & communications - Increased our focus in positioning CAA as a thought-leader, successfully driving a twofold increase in our publication volume and 95% increase in publication downloads through our website. Behind the scenes, we've been evolving our governance structure, having recently welcomed Paul Oosting as our new board chair. We have also formed an Advisory Committee and entered into a new strategic partnership with The Good Food Institute APAC. It’s been a busy six months for CAA, with lots more to come for the rest of 2024 😄 For more details on our current and past projects, visit our website 👉 https://lnkd.in/gwg2P9BB Or, subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates about our work straight to your inbox 👉 https://lnkd.in/gk9BeCW #cellag #cellularagriculture #EOFY

We are excited to welcome Paul Oosting as CAA’s new board Chair. 👏 Founder and inaugural Chair Bianca Lê le is passing the baton to Paul, who is ready to hit the ground running as we enter the new financial year and refine our strategic direction going into 2025. But first, a big thank you to Bianca (see our previous post!), as well as Chloe Dempsey for taking on the role of interim Chair and helping us navigate this transition. Paul’s extensive track record of experience in the non-profit space, particularly as CEO of GetUp (where he led the team to engage over 1.5 million people and raise $67 million in donations), will be extremely valuable in steering and growing CAA to maximise our impact in advancing Australia’s cellular agriculture sector. Paul is well-versed in climate and environmental impact, having spent the last 15+ years working in impact for justice, nature, and climate solutions. Paul has also worked as an advisor for organisations including Boundless Earth, Global Cooksafe Coalition, Climate Energy Finance and the Pooled Fund on International Energy (PIE). “I’m honoured to take on the Chair role at Cellular Agriculture Australia during this pivotal moment. Australia has the potential to be a global leader in cellular agriculture, and I'm eager to support the organisation’s collaborative approach to driving innovation and realising the enormous economic and environmental benefits this sector offers,” says Paul. Welcome Paul, we are thrilled to have you! #cellag #cellularagriculture