The transformation of our food system using cellular agriculture: What lies ahead and who will lead it?

World population growth, climate change, food distribution and the current pandemic are some of the main factors that affect food security. Traditional farming techniques, although a vital lifeline for our survival, are increasingly generating large amounts of harmful greenhouse emissions as the global population expands significantly. It is essential, therefore, to investigate alternative methods to supplement current food sources. In late 2020, Singapore issued the first-ever approval for cultured meat to be used as an ingredient for new consumable products that will soon be available in the market. This is potentially the beginning of a new transformation for supplementing our future food system. In this article, we highlight the progress that is taking place in the area of alternative protein, cultured meat and nutrition. We provide an assessment of the global situation, and discuss current research, industrial and governmental efforts to tackle the impending worldwide food crisis. We also survey the companies and start-ups working in the field (over 170 worldwide), their particular activity within the field and their sources of funding. Our findings indicate that there is a nascent global interest in alternative protein, cultured meat and nutrition with a disclosed investment of over US$4.4 billion, with a range of potential products covering almost the entire food system. However, the field is still premature and is faced with concerns from religious, safety and taste/texture viewpoints. Our article addresses some of these concerns, and highlights the timely importance to further transform the growing cellular agricultural field with multidisciplinary research, such as integrating systems biology with machine learning, to generate high technology-low cost derived future food. •In late 2020, Singapore issued the first ever approval for lab-grown meat.•The approval allows the use of this meat as an ingredient for new consumable products.•Major investments are currently being undertaken to industrialize lab-grown food worldwide.•Yet, lab-grown foods (meat & alternative proteins) are still facing numerous challenges.•Modern systems biology approaches can help overcome some of the challenges.