The demand for meat and animal-based products is increasing dramatically as the world population is predicted to grow to 10 billion by 2050, as estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization. To address this challenge, Dr. Reza Ovissipour, from Food Science Department is co-leading a USDA-SAS project on developing cell-based meat.

Dr. Ovissipour is co-leading a multi-institutional team of researchers awarded a $10 million grant, marking the first investment in cellular agriculture research and development by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is one of the most robust contribution from the U.S. government in the field to date. The five-year grant, awarded through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems program area, aims to address food supply challenges in American agriculture production by advancing education, extension, and technologies for cultivated meat, also known as cell-based meat.

Dr. Ovissipour is leading cell line development, and media development, using Artificial Intelligence to optimize media, using fermentation and insect to develop media, scaffolding, and food safety aspects of the cultivated meat.

“Blending our current agricultural practices with plant-based protein and novel cellular agriculture will boost the food supply to meet demand while reducing pressure on natural resources,” said Reza Ovissipour

Related Studies:

Study Shows How Microplastics Contamination Affects Cell-Based Food During Production

Google Scholar