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Elliot Swartz

@elliotswartz.bsky.social
772 followers 216 following 306 posts

Principal Scientist at The Good Food Institute, analyzing progress and how to address challenges for cultivated meat and alternative proteins. Opinions my own. gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cult…

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Trying to improve the environmental footprint of beef production is the agricultural equivalent of "clean" coal Over the next decade, its market share will deservedly head in the same direction as coal and ICE vehicles: down, down, down www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
newyorker.com
The True Cost of Beef
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., eats beef every day, but more Americans, faced with rising prices and another climate warning, might want something else for dinner.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
🔬📚 3 new cell lines are now listed in GFI’s Cell Line Database: two bovine + one chicken Developed by Luyef Biotechnologies, these cell lines provide the tools that researchers need to drive cultivated meat science forward Explore & request cell lines here: bit.ly/4ydH4RR
bit.ly
Expanding access to cultivated meat cell lines | The Good Food Institute
Limited access to cell lines is a significant challenge for cultivated meat research. GFI is working to expand access and support the development of new cell lines.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Tufts opens a new Innovation Hub for food and materials, including a pilot facility, cell bank, and startup incubator space. Supported by a $2M grant from the Massachusetts government: now.tufts.edu/2026/08/17/t...
now.tufts.edu
Tufts Launches Innovation Hub for New Technologies in Food and Materials
Tufts offers a new shared resource for product development to help take industry, community, and academic innovations from concept to market
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
More M&A activity in the #cultivatedmeat sector, with Ever After Foods acquiring Fishway Ever After Foods is one of the few companies using an edible packed-bed bioreactor strategy for production: www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
globenewswire.com
Ever After Foods Acquires Fishway to Expand Integrated Food Production Technology Platform
Ever After Foods acquires Fishway to expand its industrial protein manufacturing platform....
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
A nice 15-minute rundown on the case for cultivated meat by Eric Schulze: open.spotify.com/episode/3vG3...
open.spotify.com
The Case for Cultivated Meat
Food Truths · Episode
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Aleph Farms secures regulatory approval in Singapore. It's the fifth #cultivatedmeat product approved for sale in Singapore, and the first for cultivated beef in the country. Restaurant introductions expected in 2027: www.greenqueen.com.hk/aleph-farms-...
greenqueen.com.hk
Aleph Farms Earns Singapore Approval for Lab-Grown Beef, Targets 2027 Launch
Israeli cultivated meat startup Aleph Farms has obtained regulatory approval for its beef steak in Singapore, and plans to launch the product in the first half of 2027.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
French startup PARIMA completes successful run of its cultivated duck at the 20kL/ton-scale using Vow's production line in Sydney Great example of process validation & tech transfer for the sector: www.greenqueen.com.hk/parima-gourm...
greenqueen.com.hk
Parima Validates Commercial-Scale Cultivated Meat Production with Vow
French cultivated meat leader Parima has demonstrated tonne-scale production at viable cost economics on a 22,000-litre line run by Australia's Vow.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Be one of the first to try cultivated salmon: US startup Wildtype launches kickstarter for its direct-to-consumer cultivated lox product & new skincare product line, joining several other CM startups to pursue cosmetics Back the project: www.kickstarter.com/projects/jko...
kickstarter.com
Save our oceans. Take Wildtype mainstream.
On a mission to defend Earth's wild places. 2025 TIME Best Invention. FDA:✅. First cultivated marine products to market.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Australian cultivated meat startup Vow changes CEOs, as former CEO George Peppou steps into a role to lead a new biomanufacturing spinout Continues the trend of cultivated meat startups leveraging their capabilities into different markets: www.forbes.com.au/news/entrepr...
forbes.com.au
CEO shakeup at Vow amid restructure at lab-grown meat startup
Vow has cut jobs and gotten a new CEO as it looks to use its cell-culture technology to expand beyond the development of lab-grown meats.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
.@UPSIDEfoods has placed a $50M bid on the largest cultivated meat facility in the world, based in North Carolina, which was constructed by defunct company @believermeats. Other competing bids will be accepted until July 20th: agfundernews.com/exclusive-up...
agfundernews.com
Exclusive: UPSIDE Foods submits $50m stalking horse bid for Believer Meats’ US cultivated meat facility
Other bidders have until July 20 to submit competing bids for the Believer Meats cultivated meat facility in North Carolina.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
What's the status of cultivated meat in Canada? As of this time, although the novel foods pathway is defined, regulators have not received any submissions: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4N1...
youtube.com
Lab meat: Will Canada get left behind?
YouTube video by CBC News
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
🐟 New LCA study finds that cultivated seafood could have beneficial environmental impacts compared to wild-caught and farmed fish 🐠 The study uses primary pilot-scale data from the startup Forsea to model the impacts of a scaled production facility based in Japan (cont'd)
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
French startup PARIMA reports that they received safety review clearance for their cultivated duck product in Australia/New Zealand. Pending a successful outcome following a ~60-day review period, it would be the second cultivated product authorized for sale in the region.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
New study by UNC researchers shows cultivated bovine cells can be edited to remove the alpha-gal epitope, consistent w/ reduced allergenicity, likely enabling alpha-gal syndrome patients to eat red meat in the future Tailored solutions are a clear advantage for cultivated meat:
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Pretty much everyone who tries cultivated meat is surprised at how much it tastes like the real thing (because it is): youtu.be/iFb8MncOwF4?...
youtu.be
Taste testing lab-grown salmon | Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever | CNN
YouTube video by StreamOnCNN
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Great to see fermentation & cultivated food technology included in Germany's new high-tech agenda and biotechnology roadmap This is the type of public investment that can establish early leadership in up-and-coming sectors gfieurope.org/blog/hightec...
gfieurope.org
Hightech Agenda Germany: Innovation Hub for Alt Proteins
GFI Europe welcomes the fact that the German federal government has firmly anchored alternative protein sources in its High-Tech Agenda.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Czech startup Bene Meat partners with Italian company Forza10 to debut cultivated pet food in Europe The product contains 26% cultivated cells, and will be sold initially in Portugal and Spain www.greenqueen.com.hk/bene-meat-fo...
greenqueen.com.hk
Coolty Meat: Forza10 Launches EU-First Lab-Grown Dog Food with BeneMeat
Italian food company Forza10 has debuted the Coolty Meat brand of cultivated dog food, made using Czech startup BeneMeat's cell-cultured protein.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
One of the first cultivated meat startups, SuperMeat, raises $6M, plans for initial launch of their cultivated chicken product in Switzerland: www.proteinproductiontechnology.com/post/superme...
proteinproductiontechnology.com
SuperMeat secures US$6 million Series A-4 funding to advance cultivated chicken launch in Switzerland | PPTI News
SuperMeat has secured US$6 million in an initial Series A-4 financing close to support cultivated chicken commercialization, Swiss regulatory plans and industrial scale-up | Alternative Proteins | Foo...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
UK startup Meatly, which was the first company to commercialize cultivated pet food, raises $14M to build a pilot facility: meatly.pet/meatly-serie...
meatly.pet
Meatly secures £10.4m Series A to build pilot facility - Meatly
Meatly raises £10.4 million in Series to build Europe’s largest cultivated meat facility
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
New report shows how China can replicate its EV and solar buildout success for food, by focusing on alternative proteins and becoming a net protein exporter as soon as 2040: www.ft.com/content/6372...
ft.com
Is China decoupling on food?
If this is pursued with the same energy as industrial policy, it will upend the agricultural economy
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Simple input that could help productivity for cultivated meat production. Paper here: analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Canadian startup Opalia Foods raises $3.2M to develop cultivated milk — whole milk produced from cultivated mammary cells. One of just a few companies globally working on cultivated milk: www.opaliafoods.com/news/leading...
opaliafoods.com
Leading cell-based dairy company Opalia raises $3.2 million to unlock scalable dairy production amid rising global demand and supply constraints — Opalia
Leading cell-based dairy company Opalia raises $3.2 million to unlock scalable dairy production amid rising global demand and supply constraints
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Cultivated meat for dogs and cats will go on sale for the first time in Singapore across 12 different SKUs, with inclusion rates up to 70% It's the second cultivated pet food product to be sold globally: www.greenqueen.com.hk/friends-and-...
greenqueen.com.hk
Singaporeans Can Now Buy Cultivated Meat for Their Pets
US startup Friends & Family Pet Food is rolling out 12 cultivated meat products for cats and dogs in Singapore retail this week, ahead of a fresh $1.1M funding drive.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
📊 Our annual State of the Industry reports are now available. These reports summarize the trends, challenges, and progress in the alternative protein industry over the last year. Access the reports (free download) here: bit.ly/4dPypyb
bit.ly
2026 State of the Industry series - The Good Food Institute
Explore our State of the Industry series for insights into the rapidly evolving alternative protein landscape.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Recombinant transferrin is one of the most expensive inputs in many media formulations Ajinomoto found that hinokitiol, found in the wood of cypress trees, can replace its function, offering a lower-cost, food-safe, plant-based solution for cultivated meat R&D and production:
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Recombinant albumin is the most expensive input in most media formulations It only took Tufts spinout DecoLabs a few years to discover plant-based albumins with the same functionality & to make it a cost-effective product for cultivated meat R&D: www.proteinproductiontechnology.com/post/deco-la...
proteinproductiontechnology.com
Deco Labs launches plant-based albumin alternative cAlbumin for cell culture applications | PPTI News
Deco Labs has launched cAlbumin, a plant-based albumin alternative for cell culture, targeting major cost reductions and scalable performance in biomanufacturing and cultivated meat | Alternative Prot...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
French startup PARIMA receives regulatory approval in Singapore for their cultivated duck product. They are the first company to receive approval for two different species (chicken and duck). 11 safety reviews of cultivated meat have been completed in the last ~6 yrs:
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
German startup Bluu partners with Dutch CDMO Cultivate at Scale to scale up their salmon/rainbow trout process to 1000L. Initial products targeting the cosmetics/health industry, followed by food. Good to see another seafood company reaching 1000Ls www.greenqueen.com.hk/bluu-lab-gro...
greenqueen.com.hk
Bluu Reaches Industrial Production of Cultivated Fish Cells for Personal Care & Seafood
Germany's Bluu has scaled up production of its cultivated fish cells to 1,000-litre bioreactors with Dutch firm Cultivate at Scale, with personal care its first target.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Real-world production data from Czech startup Bene Meat's small-scale production facility shows cultivated meat's environmental impacts Cultivated meat had a lower land use than conventional production & a competitive carbon footprint with chicken and pork:
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Very weird that people aren't more excited about being able to produce infinite salmon, free of mercury & parasites, all from a single sample of cells, without ever having to wild catch or factory farm another fish again: www.fastcompany.com/91513827/i-a...
fastcompany.com
I ate lab-grown salmon. It was nothing like I expected
Wildtype uses a plant-based scaffolding to coax the cells to assemble themselves into a piece of actual fish.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
JBS opens $37M R&D and innovation center in Brazil focused on nutritionally and functionally optimized protein sources for the future. Cultivated meat is one of the verticals: www.greenqueen.com.hk/jbs-superpro...
greenqueen.com.hk
JBS Opens $37M Biotech Hub for Cultivated, Microbial & Functional Proteins
Brazilian meat giant JBS has opened a $37M facility for "superproteins", including microbial and cell-cultivated foods, targeting supplements and precision nutrition.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
In the second study of its kind, cultivated pork was again found to have higher protein digestibility and conversion into free amino acids compared to conventional pork. Whether this is due to the differences in sample structure is to be determined. Study here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Reposted by Elliot Swartz
Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
In blind taste tests, AlephFarms' cultivated beef was indistinguishable from conventional beef on taste/texture www.greenqueen.com.hk/aleph-farms-...
greenqueen.com.hk
Exclusive: Aleph Farms's Lab-Grown Meat Matches Beef in Consumer Taste Tests
In a blind taste test, consumers rated Aleph Farms's cultivated meat just as good as beef on the flavour and texture scale, with half saying they'd order it in a restaurant.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
In blind taste tests, AlephFarms' cultivated beef was indistinguishable from conventional beef on taste/texture www.greenqueen.com.hk/aleph-farms-...
greenqueen.com.hk
Exclusive: Aleph Farms's Lab-Grown Meat Matches Beef in Consumer Taste Tests
In a blind taste test, consumers rated Aleph Farms's cultivated meat just as good as beef on the flavour and texture scale, with half saying they'd order it in a restaurant.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Our new webpage serves as a centralized resource for tracking where cultivated meat can be sold around the world. Check it out: gfi.org/resource/whe...
gfi.org
Where cultivated meat can be sold around the world - The Good Food Institute
Explore an updated tracker of all the countries where cultivated meat can be sold, along with a list of companies and product formats.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Coverage of our modeling work on valorizing lactic acid from spent cell culture media & other opportunities to use spent media as a feedstock for fermentation or explore other recycling strategies to promote circularity & improve economics in cultivated meat: insights.figlobal.com/upcycling/sc...
insights.figlobal.com
Scientist urges cultured meat industry to consider spent media
As the cultivated meat industry continues to grapple with scale-up and regulation challenges, scientists explore upcycling spent culture media.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Here's a fact for you: This study is based on asinine assumptions that have nothing to do with how cultivated meat is produced. Read why here: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
The @washingtonpost Editorial Board calls out the states that are banning (permanently or temporarily) the sale of cultivated meat under false safety concerns to disguise the nanny-state actions led by the cattle lobby that are actually driving the policies www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | South Dakota joins the lab-grown meat panic
People can decide for themselves what they’d like to eat.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
"We respect free markets & recognize that cultivated meat products are approved and inspected by the same federal agencies that regulate conventional meat", so we'll ban cultivated meat for 5 years Very logical stance from S. Dakota politicians & cattle lobby www.greenqueen.com.hk/south-dakota...
greenqueen.com.hk
South Dakota Becomes Eighth US State to Ban Lab-Grown Meat
South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has signed a bill to put a five-year moratorium on cultivated meat, after vetoing a proposal to impose a permanent ban.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Startup Magic Valley debuts cultivated dog treats in Australia: www.greenqueen.com.hk/magic-valley...
greenqueen.com.hk
Rogue Pet: Magic Valley Debuts Australia's First Lab-Grown Meat for Dogs
Australian cultivated meat startup Magic Valley has launched Rogue Pet, a dog food brand, to generate early revenue, with initial products selling out within a week.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
In just the last 20 years, beef production destroyed global forests the size of California, mostly in the tropics Through tree loss alone (not including methane or feed crop production), this caused 3x the annual CO2 emissions of the US It's the cow, not the how. Invest in #cultivatedmeat.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
China continues to heavily invest in alternative proteins. Would not be surprising if they replicate their control of supply chains like batteries and solar, but for future protein production www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sc...
straitstimes.com
China's 'new proteins' bet: A win for Singapore
Discover how China's investment in 'new proteins' and biomanufacturing is advancing global food security and benefiting Singapore's innovation efforts. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at stra...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Scientists in China publish one of the first studies using spent cell culture media as a fertilizer. Another potential way to valorize waste and increase circularity in the cellular agriculture ➡️ conventional agriculture industries. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
With uncertain regulatory timelines, #cultivatedmeat companies are developing other ways to generate revenue by selling media inputs/services & cell culture-derived cosmetics A growing trend to monitor, with 1 company already reporting profitable operations in 2025:
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Cultivated meat companies raised ~$38M in Q4 2025, bringing the lifetime total for the industry to ~$3.4B Funding remains down, but slightly up from early 2025 Get quarterly updates to your inbox: gfi.org/newsletters/
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
We've recently compiled a list of over 1,500 patents in the #cultivatedmeat sector & nearly 3,000 in the fermentation sector. You can search and filter the public database at the link below: gfi.org/resource/alt...
gfi.org
Alternative protein literature library | GFI
Our alternative protein literature library features resources for plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived proteins pulled by our science and technology team.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Japanese #cultivatedmeat startup Integriculture achieves profitability in 2025, not by selling meat (yet), but by selling research tools and cosmetics inputs derived from their R&D: www.greenqueen.com.hk/integricultu...
greenqueen.com.hk
Japanese Cellular Agriculture Pioneer IntegriCulture Becomes Profitable in 2025
Japanese biotech startup IntegriCulture posted full-year profitability in 2025, driven by its cellular agriculture infrastructure and products.
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
LA-based OMeat rebrands into Evergreen Select and raises $6M to bring its cultivated beef to market, where it is currently under review in the US and Singapore: www.proteinproductiontechnology.com/post/evergre...
proteinproductiontechnology.com
Evergreen Select steps out of Omeat shadow with US$6 million raise and a stability-first pitch for beef | PPTI News
Evergreen Select rebranded from Omeat and secured US$6 million in fresh funding, outlining a B2B strategy that framed cultivated beef as an infrastructure tool for stabilizing volatile beef supply cha...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Nice data in this pre-print by Integriculture, outlining the production of cultivated duck liver in packed bed bioreactors With Japan finalizing its regulatory process, this product may be the first to market in the region 🇯🇵 Paper here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
German startup Innocent Meat raises €6M to develop an automated cultivated meat manufacturing platform: cultivated-x.com/investments-...
cultivated-x.com
Innocent Meat Raises €6M to Develop Automated Cell-Based Meat Platform - Cultivated X
German biotechnology company Innocent Meat has secured €6 million in a new financing round to support the development of its automated production technology
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