Cargill Invests in Lab-Grown Meat Producer Aleph Farms

American agribusiness Cargill recently announced that it is investing in Aleph Farms, a producer of cultured meat, as global demand for protein is poised to jump by about 70% over the next three decades. 

“Consumer demand for protein continues to be very strong. That means there’s an opportunity for plant and cultured protein growth to complement our traditional animal protein portfolio,” Sonya Roberts, Cargill Protein North America’s managing director of growth ventures and strategic pricing, said in a statement

Led by VisVires New Protein, the Series A investment round will assist Aleph Farms in getting its prototype products into the commercial marketplace. The company uses beef cells and a 3D tissue engineering platform to grow meat. Last December, Aleph Farms successfully showed that it could create a steak from cow cells. 

“Cargill is committed to innovation and we are delighted to be a part of Aleph’s accelerated growth,” said Roberts. “This partnership connects new frontiers in cell-based technology with insights in the global food system and supply chains to meet future customer and consumer needs.”

Aleph Farms intends to establish several "bio-farms," according to Cargill's release, and will introduce its lab-grown steak product onto the market within three to five years. A separate release by Aleph Farms on May 14 noted that the company raised $12 million during the Series A investment round. 

In 2017, Cargill invested in another cultured meat producer, Memphis Meats, with a group of funders that included Bill Gates and Richard Branson. 

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