Cultivated Meat in Southeast Asia: Climate Change Provides Food for Thought

Southeast Asians’ meat consumption is growing, putting pressure on livestock farming, which already contributes 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change, however, is projected to reduce meat supply. Will this finally force people in the region to try alternatives like cultivated meat?

Persistently higher temperatures, heat waves and ocean warming have reduced livestock and fish stock yield and availability. Besides higher mortality among livestock and fisheries, heat stress has been proven to result in lower egg production and weight.

Cultivated meat has been offered as a possible solution as it can be produced regardless of climatic impact. One study shows that if it is produced with renewable energy, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 92 per cent. Cultivated, or cultured meat, is grown by cultivating animal cells arranged in structures resembling animal tissue under laboratory conditions.

With cultivated meat, the conscious consumer will be able to eat meat without worrying about its impact on the climate, antibiotics usage, natural habitat destruction, cruelty to animals or foodborne diseases.

Over US$3.1 billion has been invested in at least 170 cultivated meat companies and projects globally. A recent market research report suggests that the global market could grow at 51.6 per cent annually between 2023 and 2030. Southeast Asia is home to at least 12 companies; 11 are based in Singapore and one in Malaysia. Singapore was the first country in the world to approve cultivated meat for sale in 2020 as part of its plan to produce 30 per cent of its food domestically by 2030. An Israeli company has also partnered with a Thai firm to establish a commercial-scale cultivated meat production facility in Thailand. 

With these considerations and looming climate concerns, are Southeast Asians open to switching to cultivated meat instead of conventional meat?

The first challenge that cultivated meat companies face is a general lack of openness to consuming it. In a survey among Southeast Asians, consumers open to cultivated meat were highest among Malaysian and Singaporean respondents at 37 per cent but were lowest among Vietnamese respondents at 12 per cent. These low scores could be attributed to a reluctance to eat processed food due to perceived health risks. This perception stems from cultivated meat being manufactured using a growth medium where cells are replicated and developed in a bioreactor into fibres before being extracted and combined into meat cuts. The current absence of studies on the long-term effects of consuming cultivated meat is a cause for further hesitation.

The second challenge holding back a switch is the premium price. Cultivated meat is much more expensive due to high manufacturing and research and development costs. Cultivated meat growers need to mimic the texture, taste and structure of conventional meats to meet consumer tastes. Huber’s Butchery, a Singaporean grocer, sold a 120-gramme bag of cultivated meat at S$7.20 (US$5.40), much higher than the cost of a chilled whole chicken at S$8.90 per kilogramme. With prices nearly seven times more than conventional meat, this is a significant deterrent.      

A third challenge hindering the switch to cultivated meat is its high perishability and a lack of uninterrupted cold-chain facilities. The latter are production, storage and distribution facilities that can keep produce at low temperatures. However, most Southeast Asian consumers buy fresh meat from wet markets instead of packaged meat from supermarkets or hypermarkets that deploy cold chains. Cultivated meat is not viable in most wet markets as they lack the facilities needed to keep meat frozen at -18 deg C to prevent spoilage. A switch requires a change in the prevailing shopping habits of consumers.

One possible solution to address the high cost of production is to develop hybrid or blended meat options – combining plant-based meat with cultivated meat. An American company, GOOD Meat, recently unveiled its hybrid cultivated and plant-based meat product consisting of three per cent of cultivated chicken in Singapore. A survey by The Good Food Institute found that 93 per cent of Southeast Asian respondents showed interest in trying hybrid meat. The survey also highlighted that Southeast Asians sought to diversify their protein sources without ceasing meat consumption. If cultivated meat production does reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 92 per cent as touted by the industry, Southeast Asians can switch to hybrid meat while retaining climate consciousness.

Climate change will continue to affect food security in Southeast Asia. Whether cultivated meat can contribute to food security as a low-carbon, environmentally friendly, healthy, resilient food option remains to be seen. It would require greater openness to cultivated meat, price parity and cold-chain infrastructure development before it can be viable. Without the help of governments and the private sector in addressing these challenges, the nascent cultivated meat industry and its ambition to reduce carbon footprints and emissions will not likely take off.