Content

Using Cellular Agriculture to Sustainably Produce Complex Proteins

Part of the BTEC Fall 2022 Seminar Series

Friday, Nov. 18, 2022
10:40–11:30 a.m.
BTEC room 135

Speaker

Rob Schutte, Ph.D.
Head of Science,
Jellatech

An estimated 23% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, forestry, and other land use. As such, eliminating carbon emissions from fossil fuels will not be enough to limit the planet’s warming to 2°C or less — emissions from the global food system must also be addressed. Biotechnological developments, rooted in tissue engineering principles, have allowed for the advancement of cellular agriculture. This concept of farming identical animal products, such as meat, dairy, leather, and proteins, directly from cells poses a much-needed solution to the growing need for sustainable agriculture. In line with this, Jellatech (founded in 2020) is developing a platform technology for producing complex animal proteins, such as collagen, directly from animal cells. While this approach comes with unique technical challenges, it presents an opportunity to provide sustainable complex proteins to our growing population.