Cell-based meat is real meat without hurting animals

The Turkish cell-based meat company Biftek is trying to scale up the production and lower the price of to enable serving a brought customer market in the future. However, there are also other variables that need to get overcome, such as religious concerns.

Erdem Erikçi, CTO of Turkish start-up company Biftek, has a very personal motivation for developing cultured meat. “I saw how much animals suffer in the traditional meat industry. It has always been my dream to stop these inhumane treatment”. After receiving a Ph.D. in biology from Germany, he was finally able to use his skills to bring about the change that matters so much to him.

Scaling up the production and lowering the price of cell-based meat

The technology of producing cell-based meat in a lab has been around for a while. One of the obstacles to be cleared before it reaches consumers’ dinner tables is the high cost. Erikçi thinks two critical steps are required before we can scale up the production and lower the price: First, an efficient setup to incubate the cells; and second, a cheaper substitute for fetal bovine serum as a growth supplement. Biftek has already had some success in developing a cheaper supplement. Erikçi thinks it won’t be long before cultured meat appears in high-end restaurants.

Overcoming religious concerns

Since Biftek is located in Turkey, the question of religious dietary prescriptions naturally arises. Will Muslims in Turkey and around the world accept that cultured meat is halal? Initially, Erikçi says, people in Turkey hesitate to embrace the idea of lab-grown meat. However, their attitudes start to change as they learn more about it. According to Erikçi’s understanding; the common aim of the religions is to ensure a system on earth in which all the members can exist together in harmony. Erikçi believes that the barriers to acceptance can be overcome eventually if the philosophy of the cultivated meat movement can be stated clearly.

Erikçi predicted that cultured meat will make its first appearance in high-end restaurants. Visit the Supertrends App to find out how soon he thinks that will happen.

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