They put the DNA from the muscle of a chicken into a yeast and then grow the protein that way. As the yeast grows the muscle protein grows inside of it. When it reaches a certain density they pull it out. It creates a concentrated protein raw product which can be reformulated to create pet food.
I’m referring to a start-up company in America which is very exciting called Bond Pet Foods. The man behind it is Rich Kelleman. They’ve got the investments they need to push along in their developments. As I understand them they wanted to create pet food which is completely in line with the nutrient requirements of cats and dogs – and we know that cats are obligate carnivores and therefore have a very specialist demand in terms of nutrients – while avoiding going down the plant-based route.
What about cultured meat for pets? – Kelleman
Ethical and sustainable and more attractive to modern pet owners
The motivation appears to be the fact that pet food comes from the waste of basic food products that were once designed to be eaten by people. You know, pet food is based upon all the rubbish that humans can’t eat such as diseased cattle and roadkill et cetera. I even discovered that euthanised cats and dogs at shelters go into pet food although I’m sure some people would disagree with me on that.
Ultimately the source and the basic building blocks of pet food is currently not good and arguably unethical. It upsets a lot of pet owners. Therefore to find an entirely new starting point which is the DNA of chicken muscle and building that into a product is far more attractive at the end of the day. The science has been around for a long time but Bond Pet Foods have used it, as I understand it, in an innovative and slightly different way to cultivate protein using yeast. It’s a bit like the fermentation process used for making beer. And it has been used for half a century to make enzymes for cheese. Bond has reimagined the process to harvest high quality meat proteins.
Process is accepted
As the industry understands fermentation, it is easier to develop this process compared to what is described as cellular agriculture options were muscle and fat tissue are grown in vitro, which is growing muscle in a laboratory.
Nutrients
They’re confident that their cultured chicken protein will have the same primary nutrients of chicken meat. It will have the usual essential amino acids and their product is designed to exceed the requirements of Association of American Feed Control Officials (the US food standards regulatory body).
First product
The first chicken-based products are expected to be on the market in 2023. On the Bond Pet Foods website they have a new “snapable, protein-packed, beautiful little bar that might just change everything”. This is a product for dogs. That should be clear. Although, of course, the manufacturer is going to create dog and cat food.
The bar is made of “clean, sustainable, animal-free ingredients”. It has a minimum of 29% of crude protein and is made with a nutrient-dense nutritional yeast. It is board certified and the bar can be broken into portions while the packaging can be re-closed.
Cats and dogs will be biggest consumers of cultured meats
It is predicted that cats and dogs will be the biggest consumers of cultured meat. They will be the first mass consumers of this grown protein. The product should suit vegans and vegetarians. There is a conflict going on among vegetarians who like to live with a cat and dog.
More vegan people need alternatives
They don’t like the fact that a cat is a carnivore and there have been cases of vegan cat owners trying to feed their cats vegan foods which is very irresponsible. They should buy a specific product which is currently on the market based on plants but with added supplements to turn it into something acceptable for cats. Bond Pet Foods should be ideal for vegan cat owners.
