Introducing Africa’s First Cultivated Beef Burger
A South African alternative protein company has unveiled the continent’s first genuine animal-meat product that’s produced without slaughtering a single animal.
Credit: Mzansi Meat Co.
Africa’s first-ever cultivated beef burger has been unveiled as the continent continues to develop its alternative protein sector.
Cultivated meat - essentially, animal protein grown under lab conditions rather than farming an animal - is expected to transform the future of the food industry, by producing animal protein in a much quicker, more efficient way, and without harming millions of animals and damaging the planet.
Now, alternative meat company Mzansi Meat Co. is Africa’s first company to successfully produce genuine animal meat by cultivating animal cells directly in a lab.
“Cellular agriculture wasn’t an industry in Africa until Mzansi was born”, co-founder Brett Thompson explains.
The South Africa-based company made history with the showcase of their first product, a cultivated beef burger, at a special launch event in Cape Town, last week.
Guests tasting and enjoying the beef burger is the final step in Mzansi’s lengthy journey from gathering a cell to producing a final edible product. Their process begins with tiny tissue cells, which were taken from animals at a local farm sanctuary.
The cells are then isolated at the Mzansi Meat Co. laboratory, where they use cultures to grow the cell, and eventually combine them with an edible structure, spices and flavours to create the finished cultivated meat product.
Producing sustainable protein in this way comes as Africa’s population continues to grow, with the population expected to expand by another billion people by 2050. Mzansi hopes that cultivated meat products can help secure food security on the continent.
“Our burger is only the beginning, we now know it’s possible and the next step is scaling up”, explains Thompson. Imminent plans for the company include producing a variety of different meats, including sausages, nuggets, and steaks, with the main goal to produce meat that can be used in traditional African cuisine.
“Everything we make will be braai-friendly and ready for the fire! We’re working on plans to scale up and move into a pilot production facility as well as a rollout plan with retailers and restaurant partners,” added co-founder Tasneem Karodia.
The Future Of Food
Also known as cell-based or lab-grown meat, cultivated meat is one of the leading solutions to eliminating factory farms and making the suffering of animals in the farming industry a thing of the past. And because it’s crafted in a lab rather than via animals on a farm, it’s healthier than conventional meat because it contains no antibiotics.
“A new space race for the future of food is underway”, Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director of the Good Food Institute (GFI) explains.
"Most of the conventional meat companies have reconstituted as protein companies, and nine of the 10 biggest have either launched or invested in plant-based meat, cultivated meat, or both”, Friedrich added.
And it’s easy to see how alternative proteins are already beginning to transform the food industry: Tyson Foods, the biggest meat producer in the US, recently launched a range of vegan meats into supermarkets nationwide, while fast-food giant McDonald’s is currently rolling out its first-ever vegan burger, the McPlant, across the world. And plant-based meat brand Impossible Foods raised nearly $500 million in its latest funding round, showing investors’ appetite for planet-friendly protein.
Fascinated by cultivated meat meat? Check out our podcast focus The Future of Food - where we talk with the game changers who are leading the way toward a world without factory farms and slaughterhouses.
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