At least 90 reasons for widespread adoption of cellular agriculture, says Harvard paper

The paper posted on the Harvard library lists the potential benefits to society that the cellular agriculture industry can bring, including health, environmental, and financial benefits.

There are at least 90 reasons cellular agriculture might benefit society if adopted on a widespread scale, according to an executive from a  non-profit organisation focused on developing the nascent industry.

Kristopher Gasteratos, the founder and president of the Cellular Agriculture Society (CAS), has written a paper listing the benefits of cellular agriculture if introduced on a "global scale", spanning health and environmental benefits, human and animal rights benefits, as well as business and economic benefits.

The paper, which the author says is non-exhaustive, has been posted on the Harvard library website and can be downloaded here.

In the preface, Gasteratos says: “After thousands of years depending on animals for agriculture, humanity has fairly attained the biotechnological means to supersede this necessity through a new practice called cellular agriculture.

“This concept of farming identical animal products from cells outside of an animal, without the need for raising a living animal, poses a much-needed solution to factory farming.

“Cell-ag has the potential to address problems of public health, the environment, and human/animal rights at a remarkable scale, positioning it in an unprecedented class truly capable of revolutionising the world.

“Whether you approach this piece as a sceptic, supporter, or potential consumers, the following is a non-exhaustive list outlining 90 reasons to consider cellular agriculture.”

Health benefits to cellular agriculture include “no pathogen contamination”, “lower global famine risk” and “no swine or avian flu”, the paper highlights.

Environmental benefits include the use of less land, water and the production of less greenhouse gas emissions, it adds.

Cellular agriculture will also help evolve farming processes, abandoning the “poor physical conditions” of the factory farm.

Furthermore, it would also save taxpayers as there would “no longer be mass chicken cullings, antibiotic resistance, and product contamination recalls that cost American taxpayers million”, the paper adds.

Business and economic benefits, says Gasteratos, include financial security as the nascent industry would avoid problems like food safety scandals.