Cultured meat was presented to the world as one of the greatest promises of modern biotechnology. The concept seemed like an engineering miracle capable of producing real steaks without having to sacrifice any animals. The hype quickly attracted billions of dollars in investment and was marketed as a revolution capable of transforming the global food supply, but while the technology was grabbing headlines and generating excitement, one detail remained unknown to the general public.

In order for those muscle cells to multiply inside bioreactors, many companies still relied on an ingredient sourced precisely from the industry they promised to replace. Extracting a few muscle cells from a living animal is relatively simple; the real challenge begins afterward. Those cells need to multiply millions of times to form enough tissue to produce food, and—like any cell in the body—they require nutrients, proteins, and extremely specific biochemical signals to continue growing healthily.

One of the solutions developed by laboratories was to use what is known as fetal bovine serum (FBS). This material is rich in proteins, hormones, and growth factors capable of stimulating extremely efficient cell division, and it became the most widely used culture medium in biomedical research as well as in the earliest cultured meat projects.

The problem lies precisely in its origin: the serum is obtained during the processing of bovine fetuses from slaughtered pregnant cows. Although its use in scientific research has a long history, its presence within the cultured meat industry created a huge paradox. A technology presented as an alternative to animal slaughter still depended in part on the very livestock industry to function. In addition to the ethical issue, there was another equally important obstacle: cost.

Producing fetal bovine serum involves a complex process of collection, filtration, and quality control, making it one of the most expensive inputs in biotechnology; depending on its purity and application, a single liter can cost thousands of dollars, making large-scale production economically unfeasible. As this issue began to gain attention, investors, consumers, and researchers intensified the pressure to find alternatives that were entirely free of animal-derived components.

From there, a scientific race began to replace the serum with chemically defined culture media. Instead of relying on a complex biological fluid, researchers began to individually identify which proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and growth factors were truly essential for the cells.

Other teams took different approaches; some are exploring proteins obtained through precision fermentation, using genetically modified microorganisms to produce molecules identical to those found in nature.

Others are researching plant extracts derived from algae, yeast, fungi, and soy, seeking to create more sustainable and economically viable culture media. These advances allowed several companies to announce processes that are completely free of fetal serum. However, a new barrier emerged almost immediately: industrial scale.

Producing some of these synthetic media for research is relatively straightforward. Producing tens of thousands of liters while maintaining quality, stability, and competitive costs remains a massive challenge in chemical engineering, biotechnology, and logistics. The higher the production volume, the more difficult it becomes to maintain cell growth rates without drastically increasing the final price of the product.

Today, the industry is undergoing precisely this transition. Technology has succeeded in reducing its dependence on animal serum, but it is still seeking a balance between efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability. And tell me, based solely on the information we’ve seen so far, would you be willing to switch from natural to artificial feed?