Scaling Cultured Meat: Challenges and Solutions for Affordable Mass Production

Abstract

As the global population grows and meat consumption increases, the demand for sustainable and efficient food systems becomes urgent. Cultured meat (CM) has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional meat, offering potential benefits in environmental conservation, resource efficiency, and animal welfare. Although the cost of CM has dropped dramatically—from $2.3 million/kg for the first cultured beef burger to $63/kg—it remains prohibitively expensive and confined to small-scale production. Recent advancements in areas, such as cell density, cell doubling times, and bioreactor efficiency, have shown promise in further reducing costs. Thus, transformative innovations in all aspects of CM production will contribute to achieving price parity with conventional meat. This review explores the four core technologies underpinning CM production: cell line development, serum-free media, scaffold fabrication, and bioreactor design, with a focus on achieving economical, large-scale production through their interdependence and integration. These technologies converge around three key breakthroughs: engineering genetically stable, highly expandable, and functionalized cell lines to minimize reliance on tissue sampling and expensive growth factors; utilizing plant-based substitutes and recombinant protein alternatives to reduce the costs of media and scaffolds while enhancing biocompatibility; and optimizing bioreactors to provide dynamic environmental control, enabling high-density cell cultures at scale. By synthesizing recent advancements and addressing critical challenges, this review outlines a roadmap for cost-effective, industrial-scale CM production. It provides strategies to reduce costs, improve scalability, and contribute to global food security, ultimately establishing CM as a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional meat production.