In promoting a campaign to position the nation at the forefront of a global alternative protein ecosystem, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to cultivated meat producer Aleph Farms on December 7 to try out its cultivated steak. The Rehovot-headquartered company is a pioneer in growing real meat directly from cow cells under controlled conditions, using a fraction of the resources required for raising an entire animal for meat and without antibiotics.
“It’s delicious and guilt-free, I can’t taste the difference,” stated Netanyahu. “I have directed State Secretary Tzahi Braverman to appoint a body to serve these industries in order to connect and oversee all the stakeholders operating in this field. Israel will become a powerhouse for alternative meat and alternative protein.”
During the visit, the Prime Minister sampled Aleph’s cultivated steak along with The Good Food Institute Israel’s Managing Director Nir Goldstein. Prior to the tasting, Netanyahu, accompanied by the government’s animal rights advisor, Tal Gilboa, toured the facilities, receiving an overview on the production process and learning about the company’s distinct sustainability vision. The visit also included a presentation by Goldstein and Aleph Farms’ Co-Founder and CEO Didier Toubia, who shared the organization’s National Policy Plan – detailed roadmap for making Israel the global alternative protein leader.
Israel has become a fertile ground for innovation in food technology, with tight connections having been forged between academia, the food industry and government. In a move to propel food innovation, the Israeli Innovation Authority established the FoodTech incubators known as “The Kitchen Hub” and “Fresh Start.” Aleph Farms was founded and nurtured by The Kitchen Hub incubator of the Strauss Group, in collaboration with Professor Shulamit Levenberg, Dean of the Biomedical Engineering faculty of the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Last week, Singapore made headway in concluding the world’s first regulatory process that will bring cultivated meat to the market. Its Food Agency cleared and gave permission to an American company, doing business at Eat Just, to begin selling lab-grown chicken in the city state after winning what it calls the world’s first government approval for “cultured” meat. This has transformed the cultivated meat movement from being a long-term vision into becoming a realized practical solution that addresses what are regarded as some of the planet’s most pressing challenges.
Aleph Farms, SuperMeat, MeatTech and Future Meat Technologies are leading cultivated meat companies headquartered in Israel. Aleph Farms, the first to cultivate a steak outside of a cow’s body and to pledge to become carbon-neutral by 2025, initiated a pilot cultivation facility earlier this year. SuperMeat and Future Meat Technologies have debuted the first cultivated meat restaurant and manufacturing plant respectively.
The Covid-19 health crisis and environmental issues have served to point out the sensitive nature of food systems and highlighted the urgency for establishing sustainable and resilient food systems. Like many other countries, Israel is facing food security challenges, having 85 percent of the locally consumed beef in fact imported, and not locally produced.
“The new national plan for alternative proteins involves six different ministries and capitalizes on Israel’s unique capabilities,” said Didier Toubia, Co-Founder and CEO of Adelph Farms. “Our company is a great example of such collaboration between a governmental agency, the industry, and the academy – all working together to secure a leading position in this key industry. The goal of implementing such national programs for food security is to provide unconditional and secure supplies of quality nutrition to anyone, anytime, anywhere. We feel lucky to be part of the local cultivated meat industry, which is working collaboratively to stimulate a global transition for the protein sector.”
