1.
Introduction
1.1.
Background information
This proposal has been developed in response to a call made by the
Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to recommend our solutions given the
team’s high interest in sustainable solutions.
1.1.1
Food Sustainability
The
team looked at food sustainability. Food sustainability looks into the
production, distribution, packaging and consumption of food (Ackers, 2019). For
instance, having sustainable farming practices, a low environmental impact, and
protecting public health are all essential factors that determine food
sustainability. These factors ensure that the amount of farm produce is either
consistent or increasing. These also ensure that natural resources are neither
wasted nor damaged, and that is it healthy and safe for consumption, which
means that there are no hazardous pesticides and chemicals, non-essential
antibiotics or growth promotion supplements (Ackers, 2019).
1.1.2
Emerging Food Technology
From
a survey conducted by Team FoodTech, it is found that a large number of SIT
students are not aware of cultured meat, a sustainable solution (refer to
Appendix). Ewing-Chow (2019) defined cultured meat as “livestock agriculture’s
lab-based response to the vertical farming movement”. A number of cells are
first extracted from the animal and then placed into a growth medium (to
support growth cells) where they are proliferated. Later on, the cells are
transferred into a bioreactor to multiply them rapidly. Muscle fibers are
collected after the medium solution and meat residue are disposed of (Sriram
& Ling, 2019).
1.1.3
Motivations behind cultured meat
The
world population is increasing and the same is true for the consumption of
conventional meat. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (2006),
it is estimated that meat consumption will double in the next forty years. In
addition, the organization stated that the amount of conventional meat
production is close to its maximum production capability. This means
conventional meat will become significantly less and thus more expensive. Conventional
meat
1.1.4
Benefits of cultured meat
There
are several benefits of cultured meat that will be covered in this section of
the report. In relation to health, in-vitro meat (also known as cultured meat),
can be created to be healthier than conventional meat by altering the content
of the culture medium, fat content and fatty acid composition of cultured meat
(Baht, Kumar and Fayaz, 2015). In addition, the ratio of saturated to
poly-unsaturated fatty acids could also be manipulated. According to the
article by Baht, Kumar and Fayaz (2019), harmful saturated fats could be
substituted by healthy fats, such as omega-3. Apart from cultured meat being
made healthier, the stringent quality standards also significantly reduces the
likelihood of contamination, and exposure to hazardous substances used in
traditional meat production systems, such as pesticides, arsenic, dioxins, and
hormones.
From
an economical standpoint, there is significantly shorter time needed to culture
meat, as compared to the conventional process of raising livestock. Currently,
it takes months for chickens and years for pigs and cows before the meat is
obtained and commercially available. However, cultured only requires weeks to
culture, and the energy and labour needed for every 1kg of cultured meat is
also significantly lower, as the time required to maintain the tissue is much
less.
The
last benefit is that cultured meat production systems are more environmentally
friendly and energy efficient compared to traditional factory farming.
According to several researchers, in-vitro meat production systems could reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from raising livestock by as much as 90% and the use
of land and water resources for raising meat by up to 80% (Fox 2009; Schneider
2013). Tuomisto and de Mattos (2011) estimated that in-vitro meat involves
7-45% less energy than conventionally produced meat, 78-96% lower emissions of
greenhouse gases, 99% lower land use, and 82-96% lower water use assuming that
cyanobacteria can be used as a source of nutrients and energy.
1.2.
Problem statement
[Ideal]
Cultured
meat, an alternative food solution can be more prevalent in Singapore. The meat
is more sustainable and ecologically friendly as compared to conventional meat.
[Gap]
However,
cultured meat is not widely known in Singapore. In a survey conducted by Team
FoodTech, majority of respondents which are Singapore students, are unaware of
cultured meat.
[Goal]
SIT@Dover
has to be a testbed for future opportunities involving culture meat. Cultured
meat can be made available at one of the cafeterias in the institute. Members
of the public who are keen to try could visit the stall.
1.3.
Purpose statement
The
report aims to bring together Singapore-based Shiok Meats and a canteen vendor
at Canopy Food Court at SIT@Dover cafeteria to introduce cultured meat, serving
as a trial and a testbed.
2.
Proposed solution
In
order to boost awareness for cultured meat, more opportunity should be
generated for students and staff from the institute to try out. We planned to
seek approval from Shiok Meats to allow canteen vendor from SIT@Dover to sell
their cultured meat products to generate public awareness and opportunities for
all stakeholders.
2.1
Shiok Meats at SIT@Dover
Shiok
Meats is a local startup company that specialises in growing seafood from stem
cells. In short, the company grows cultured crustacean meat. They have their
own rendition of the ‘Siew Mai’, a popular chinese dumpling which consists of
their lab-grown shrimps. According to Sriram & Ling (2019), several people
have emailed them to enquire where to get the products from. The company had
also garnered high interest from various restaurants and supermarkets. Although
there is a limited number of people who have tried the product, Siu,
managing director of Good Food Institute APAC claimed that it tasted similar to
the regular ones.
The
team interviewed available vendors at the time of research in regards to their
opinion on cultured meat. The western stall representative at Canopy Canteen in
SIT@Dover stood out most as its menu consists of several dishes that could go
well with seafood. Thus, the team have deemed the stall to be ideal in selling
cultured meat. The stall has plans to replace the real meat in some present
food choices and develop new dishes with products made by the company Shiok
Meat. The stall owner plans to use the monitor already at his stall to showcase
the technology behind cultured meat since in a research by team member Zaki
proved that displays can boost the chance of people trying cultured meat.
2.2
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The
Singapore government’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is
currently in the early stages of developing clean meat technology and the team
is sure that involving the agency to use the trial for research purposes will
help Singapore in its sustainability goals.
3.
Benefits of proposed solutions
From
the perspective of stakeholders, there are numerous advantages.
3.1.
Singapore Institute of Technology(SIT)
The
Western stall will attract people all over Singapore into SIT given how unheard
of cultured crustaceans are to Singaporeans and students. The institution will
gain some publicity which in turn may turn heads in the industry to look into
cultured meat. Furthermore, SIT students from the course specializing in food
technology would be able to get up close with cultured meat, which gives a
different learning experience.
3.2
Shiok Meats
Shiok
Meats could turn into the main leading cultured meat distributor if the company
continues to develop the technology while learning from the opportunity of
working with Singapore Institute of Technology. The company may see more
investors join the company towards a more sustainable future.
3.3
Increased Awareness and Food Security
In
the long run, if Singapore faces a sudden change in its food imports and
cultured meat is already introduced to the wider population of Singapore, then
the city-state would be able to withstand the troubling times. Cultured meat if
more known by the mass population can bring about more investments into the
technology behind it.
4.
Evaluation
Despite
the advantages these solutions could bring, their limitations should be
considered. After weighing the benefits and limitations of the solutions, the
team suggests to set up the western stall in collaboration with not only Shiok
Meats but A*STAR too. Listed below are the limitations that are foreseen and
considered.
4.1.
Cost of Cultured Meat
While
cultured meat has its obvious benefits, there is still a major constraint in
terms of the cost of producing cultured meat. In fact, certain reports have
estimated that it would require 5 to 10 years for cultured meat to be
accessible on a commercial scale (Begum, 2019).
Currently, cultured meat is expensive due to the pricey culture media
needed to feed the cells. According to Begum (2019), Dr Ng stated that the
price of 1kg of cultured meat was US$2.4 million, and the price reduced to
US$5,000 in 2017. While this shows a reduction in the price of cultured meat,
it is still expensive. Dr Ng also mentioned that existing research on
lab-grown meat is still in development, and only minced meat and fillings are
likely to be available by 2030. This means that more complex meat such as a
slice of beef steak or chicken fillet, would require more technology to produce
the texture and taste that consumers desire, as mentioned by Dr Ng. The use of
additional technology would in turn increase the cost of cultured meat.
4.2.
Approval from Health Science Authority (HSA)
The
HSA guarantees the safety of food that is sold in Singapore. They might not
approved the trial to be conducted in SIT@Dover due to safety concerns.
Therefore, it may take awhile before the trial can begin as food tests have to
be conducted and evaluated first. Though the food tests take time, it will
ensure the food consumed by students and visitors are safe to eat.
4.3.
Possible overcrowding
It is possible that due to the increase of people
entering the canteen to try cultured crustaceans, the canteen might get
overcrowded which may impact the time it takes for people to get food as well
as around the place. This problem can be solved through the use of queue
numbers.
5. Methods of Procedure (1 page)
This section detailed on the types of sources we
extracted information from for our report.
5.1. Primary Research
For our project’s primary research,
these are the types of research we have carried out - survey, direction
observation, and interview.
5.1.1. Survey
The team has conducted a survey which
consist of 4 questions and has [no. of participants]. The reasons to conduct
the survey is to determine how keen students from SIT@Diver are willing to try
cultured.
[Insert appendix number - results]
5.1.2. Direct observation
Based on my team’s observation, we
noticed that there is no eateries or restaurants selling food with cultured
meat.
5.1.3. Interview
We interviewed the stall owner of the
western stall on 6 November 2019, at 3.30pm. The stall owner had
expressed his interest in selling cultured at his stall, provided that there is
grant and approval from HSA.
6.2 Secondary Research
Our team has analysed several credible websites,
mainly newspaper articles, and journal articles such as CNA and The Straits
Times. Each person from the team have made one annotated summary as part of the
project research.
Conclusion (1 page)
The team has backed research on the importance of
introducing cultured meat as an alternative food source to consumers in
Singapore.
References
Ackers, K., Gruchy, H. de, Thomas,
H., Worsley, S., & Nolet, S. (2019, September 12). What Does Food
Sustainability Really Mean? Retrieved from https://www.ecoandbeyond.co/articles/food-sustainability/
Begum, S. (2019, March 27). Future food: Growing
meat in lab to help meet supply needs. The Straits Times. Retrieved from
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/future-food-growing-meat-in-lab-to-help-meet-supply-needs
Begum, S. (2019, March 28). Food of the future:
Beefing up efforts to grow meat in labs. The Straits Times. Retrieved
from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/beefing-up-efforts-to-grow-meat-in-labs
Bhat, Z. F., Kumar, S., &
Fayaz, H. (2015, February 14). In vitro meat production: Challenges and
benefits over conventional meat production. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531191460887X
Co, C. (2019, March 30). Siew mai
goes high tech: Singapore's first cell-based shrimp dumplings launched. The Straits Times.
Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/siew-mai-goes-high-tech-singapore-s-first-cell-based-shrimp-11393320
Ewing-Chow, D. (2019, June 20). Is
Cultured Meat The Answer To The World's Meat Problem? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2019/06/20/is-cultured-meat-the-answer-to-the-worlds-meat-problem/#712e37ea4468.
Hultin, G. (2017, July 28).
Lab-Grown Meat: Exploring Potential Benefits and Challenges of Cellular
Agriculture. Retrieved from https://foodandnutrition.org/march-april-2017/lab-grown-meat-exploring-potential-benefits-challenges-cellular-agriculture/
Low, A. & Yew, J.J. (2019,
August). Meet Shiok Meats – The World’s First Start-Up To Grow Shrimp From Stem
Cells. Retrieved from http://www.hnworth.com/article/become/trendsetters/meet-shiok-meats-the-worlds-first-start-up-to-grow-shrimp-from-stem-cells/
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