Vow, an Australian start-up equally focused on innovation and publicity, is winning the global media cycle by bringing cultured meat to the culinary world. Vow acquired regulatory approval in June to sell its products in Australia. This makes it one of just three companies in the world currently permitted to commercialize cultured meat. Ellen Dinsmoor, the CEO of Vow, emphasizes that the company is not aiming to replace traditional meat but rather to create unique food products from animal cells.
Vow produces a type of cultured meat that is developed from quail cells. Once harvested, the cells are grown under strict guidelines within a bioreactor — a dome shaped bulk fermentation tank similar to those used in breweries. This approach enables Vow to produce meat without needing to raise and kill animals. The quail cells flourish in a nutrient-rich broth that circulates inside the bioreactor. Dinsmoor goes on to describe how they remove living cells from animals. After that, they culture these cells in what he refers to as a nutrient broth. At the end of the day, you can kerf those cells out.
Chef Mike McEnearney, who operates a successful restaurant in Sydney. He’s one of the first chefs in the country to cook with Vow’s cultured quail. He serves cultured quail compound butter, and the quail meat used in Vow’s cultured compound butter is from Vow’s facility in Alexandria, Sydney. McEnearney loves the dish so much he describes it as “slap-your-momma delicious.” He emphasizes its pâté-like texture and bright chicken flavor.
Now, eleven restaurants around Australia have begun serving everything from carpaccio to fritters crafted from cultured quail. This move continues a trend started by Singapore. In December, the country became the first to approve the sale of cultured meat, which has been commercially available for the last year. The potential of cultured meat has chefs and diners widely anticipating the culinary marvel it will yield.
Dinsmoor confidently claims that Vow is creating a entirely new food category. “What we make is very unique in that it’s not plant-based; we’re not trying to recreate beef and other meats we eat today,” she states. Rather than breeding and raising animals, Vow is interested in the vast opportunities offered by alternative animal cells, to imagine new culinary experiences.
Despite this promise, the cultured meat industry has come under fire and has encountered various challenges. Today, Italy and France are leading the charge to ban the sale and consumption of cultured foods. Similarly, an increasing number of U.S. states are taking the same steps. Concerns over sustainability have been raised by experts like Paul Wood, an adjunct professor in biotechnology at Monash University. He highlights the ethical motivations behind this technology, noting that “for some people, it’s because they don’t want to see animals harmed. For others, it’s an environmental thing.”
In answer to these criticisms, thought leader Sam Perkins makes the case for cellular agriculture. He’s convinced that these technologies can augment and improve the efficiency of — and provide alternatives to — our current food supply chains. “It’s widely recognized that we’re not going to be able to do that sustainably using existing methods alone,” he explains. On the one hand, Perkins emphasizes the incredible promise of cultured meat. It helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and land use significantly, and increase resilience to climate shocks and supply chain disruptions.
As diners continue to offer this new culinary frontier, the response has been overwhelmingly favorable. Angelo, a restaurant patron, shared his thoughts: “I’d say it’s pretty adventurous. It’s quite new in the industry, so I’m glad to have tried it.” Similarly, Benjamin Heenan expressed his enthusiasm for the innovation, stating, “I really like the innovative nature of it, and I think I’d be really happy to see it more on menus.”
The rollout of cultured meat will be the biggest and most revolutionary breakthrough in the food industry. Chefs like McEnearney are excited to see just how far they can take its possibilities. He notes, “It’s my first time in 35 years of cooking that I’ve seen a new category come to market. It’s really exciting. It is brand new food.”
