Archer Daniels Midland, a global leader in sustainable nutrition, and Believer Meats, a pioneer of the cultivated meat industry, have signed a non-exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on new ways to drive the development and commercialization of cultivated meat products.

“With a global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, ADM is working with partners across the value chain to meet food security and sustainability needs by expanding the protein ecosystem,” said Leticia Gonçalves, ADM’s president, Global Foods. “Cultivated meat represents an exciting evolution and yet another way to meet long-term food security needs — along with other traditional and novel sources of protein ... We’re proud to work with a true innovator like Believer to explore new ingredients and solutions to propel the development of these exciting products, and excited to continue to add valuable partners as we work across the industry to meet growing demand driven by the enduring trends of food security and sustainability.”

Gustavo Burger, CEO of Believer Meats, added: “Believer is thrilled to partner with ADM in driving innovation to expand the emerging cultivated meat industry. Our shared commitment to sustainability and expanding protein choices for consumers makes this collaboration a natural fit. By pairing ADM's leading expertise in ingredient application development, and complete nutrition solutions they bring to their customers, with our groundbreaking cell-cultivation technology, with its unmatched efficiency and scalability, we aim to accelerate the development and commercialization of high-quality, safe, and delicious meat products that deliver on the increasing demands of our growing global population."

Under the terms of the MOU, the companies intend to work together to explore a variety of opportunities throughout the cultivated meat production process, with a focus on bringing ADM’s vast ingredient line and expertise in complete nutrition solutions to enhance Believer’s proprietary cell-cultivated meat process. The  agreement also includes a path to further support the partnership and industry growth by utilizing ADM’s processing expertise and footprint to potentially commercialize new products arising from the collaboration.