Thematic Overview

Introduction

The overarching goal of our Integrated Human Practices is centered around the various feedback given from interviewing stakeholders, conducting surveys, and actively participating in relevant current events. From the various feedback received through our initial interaction, our team, Korea-HS, accommodated our project to reflect the opinions of possible stakeholders of this project. To elaborate, our team focused on major values of environmental, economic, religious, academic, and personal beliefs. Since food consumption and meat consumption in particular is an independent choice of oneself, we, as a Korea-HS team, strived to capture the diverse perspectives and angles from various stakeholders in the status quo and accurately assess the impact of meat and lab-cultured meat in today’s society.

In terms of the stakeholder communities, we approached a variety of stakeholders related to the conventionalization of lab-cultured meat through our project. Overall, our stakeholder community can be categorized into 4 distinct groups: academia, companies, activists, and consumers, all of which are related to cultured meat and future food industries. Within these groups, our team strived to cover all the possible stakeholders that might have impacted or been impacted by our project and the results of the project. The detailed descriptions of each stakeholder and their contribution to the team are mentioned below.

In Integrated Human Practices, we conducted various post-feedback activities. Specifically, for stakeholders that we needed more information, we conducted extra interviews for more insights and follow-up questions from the previous interviews. In terms of projects, our team’s Integrated Human Practices work is divided into the experimental portion and the project portion. In the experimental section, the team underwent and reviewed experiments according to the feedback received from stakeholder interaction. The other section, projects, regards all the activities done as an influence from the initial outreach process. Some examples of these projects are creating a safety manual about food production guidelines and awareness activities of trying to reinforce the message of global food shortage, ethical issues, and environmental concerns.

Overall, our Integrated Human practices were very successful in addressing the feedback provided by our stakeholders. The thorough evaluation and subsequent improvements to our project make our Integrated Human Practices a thorough and considerate project that encompasses opinions from stakeholders in various fields, expertise, and backgrounds.

Validation: Is Our Project Good and Responsible for the World?

Academia

Dr. Tan is a researcher dedicated to using cell culture technology to advocate for a more sustainable future in the food industry. As the main project of our team is to establish a cultured media to enhance the cultured meat process by lowering the price and speeding up the process, our team decided that Dr. Tan, an expert researcher in the field of cultured cell products, would be a suitable person for us to interview and gain insight regarding the topic.

• During the interview, Dr. Tan remarked cultured meat is eco-friendly, sustainable food production, and safe food as some of the principal advantages. He pointed out that the development of cultured meat can help solve various prevalent problems of traditionally produced meat, such as excessive resource consumption that disregards the rapidly increasing human population, ethical issues, and disease transition through the consumption of meat. He also noted that the limitations of the current state of cultured meat development include low cost-efficiency, which is preventing mass production of the meat, and not having the same texture and flavor. He mentioned the difference in nutrition composition and protein content between cultured and traditionally produced meat, noting that they might be different, which might prevent consumers from purchasing those products. He also commented on spreading awareness regarding cultured meat, especially to the consumers, in order to increase the attention and give reliance on products consumers.
• Based on the guidance of Dr. Tan, our team could get several ideas to improve our project. First and foremost, our team decided to settle the main focus of our project to make the process of developing cultured meat more cost-efficient. This would contribute to solving problems of limitations in mass production and supply of cultured meat to the larger public. In addition, our team also decided to focus on spreading awareness regarding cultured meat. In order to achieve this, our team has been promoting information regarding the topic on social media, writing manuals and proposals about the rules, and others.

Dr. Hopkins is a philosopher who does a lot of crossover work in the areas of science, law, and business. We chose to interview Dr. Hopkins due to his knowledge of moral psychology and its relation to the ethical implications of our project.

• In regard to cultured meat, he states that “provided that the technology and safety standards are there, [he is] very much for it.” Moreover, he also agrees that the lab-cultured meat industry “like most technologies, will eventually depend on an economy of scale and its economic efficiency,” elaborating that the technology has potential if it can be widely distributed with low production costs that enable it to have wider appeal. Additionally, he informed us about a possible innate rejection of new technology that eventually subsides with consumption and, most importantly, time, citing organ transplants as an analogous instance of this public reaction. Furthermore, he described that the confusion between lab-cultured meat and plant-based meat caused the former to be grouped with the latter in being called “fake meat” or “franken-meat”, contributing to social stigma and skepticism surrounding non-traditional meat.
• Going forward, Dr. Hopkins stressed the importance of sustainable production processes that do not threaten the environment, affordability, and successful marketing including non-controversial labels such as “cruelty-free meat” for lab-cultured meat in stores.

Dr. Reisinger is a Vice Chair of IPCC Working Group III and an expert on global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. His personal research interests focus on the role of agriculture in domestic and international climate change policy, greenhouse emission metrics, adaptation strategies, and ways of managing uncertainty in decision-making for mitigation and adaptation. Since he worked in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, our team reached out to ask his opinion on current climate change issues and our project of creating conditioned media and promoting the consumption of cultivated meat.

• During the interview, Dr. Reisinger was really excited about our project because he thought it would be an innovative way to reduce the negative environmental impact through artificial meat only if there is an efficient technique to pass the nation’s safety policy. He definitely agreed our project is important to our world because there are absolute potential benefits such as reduced methane emission, reduced Nitrogen in soil with less usage of fertilizers, reduced water pollution, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, he pointed out some drawbacks of our project which is high cost and synthetic biology-based food safety. To be specific, he encouraged us to think “To what extent can lab-grown meat become a basic commodity that can replace meat in the lower cost segment? or To what extent can your project be implemented?” We learned from his interview that we should consider whether our project could be applied to diverse nations in the world. To answer this question, we came up with our own project: Synthetic Biology-based Food Production Policy Framework (Outline Manual 2). We proposed our own policies about producing synthetic biology-based food such as lab-grown meat.
• The goal of our guide was to pass the synthetic biology-based food regulatory hurdles of different countries, which was mentioned in Dr. Reisinger’s interview. Thanks to him, we could propose a solution to promote and ensure the safety of food throughout the entire food supply chain, from production and processing to distribution and consumption from different countries’ perspectives.

Companies

Pulmuone is a well-known South Korean food corporation called Pulmuone has unveiled its "Cultured Meat" division, which focuses on cutting-edge plant-based and cultured meat substitutes. The Pulmuone brand's dedication to sustainability and offering moral, better protein options is shared by this cutting-edge product line. It covers a range of meat-like items made using cutting-edge biotechnology, giving consumers a more ethical and compassionate option while simulating the flavor and texture of traditional meat. From our interview, we did not learn a lot about cultured meat because it does not mainly focus on the cultured meat division and they recently started their activities toward cultured meat. They emphasized, however, that when it comes to using synthetic biology for food, the main concern for scientists and producers should be "safety." In creating our guidelines for synthetic foods and biology, we emphasized the importance of taste and texture.

Simple Planet is a company that implemented environmental technology due to cell culture platform technology, and the aim is to create an environment in which the future food of cells is being developed in an organized procedure. Based on cell culture platform technology and stem cell engineering technology, they develop cell-derived future food to solve food problems in fields such as cellular agriculture and cell engineering. During the interview, he thought that our project was quite interesting, utilizing the gene/DNA and protein cells to create cultured meat. However, he focused on talking about the ethical and moral part of creating cultured meat, and he also added that modifying and utilizing DNA structures can count as unethical and irresponsible to the earth. He quoted “In the past, there were a lot of moral issues chained to the topic of cultured meat because to accelerate the process of creating the protein cells, scientists need to bring substances from the animal cells or the embryo cells.” Then he also talked about the drawbacks of the ethical version of cultured meat creation, which takes 5 or up to 10 years for the proper commercialization of cultured meat because of the process's texture, taste, and slow speed (if ethical guidelines are followed.) The key point we learned from his interview is that we should consider whether our project is fully ethical, not only in the environmental section but also in the technology and moral section. To answer this question, we came up with our own project: Synthetic Biology-based Food Production Policy Framework (Outline Manual 2). We proposed our own policies about the ethics of synthetic biology technology and resource-based food such as lab-grown meat. The goal of our guide was to pass the ethics-related synthetic biology-based food regulatory hurdles of different countries, which were mentioned in the company’s interview. Thanks to the company, we could propose a solution to promote and ensure the safety of food throughout the entire food supply chain, from production and processing to distribution and consumption from different countries’ perspectives.

[11 Start-Up Companies: (AFRO) Agri & Food Tech Start-Up Rising Expo 2023]

This company focuses on creating a healthy food product that utilizes vinegar made into effervescent vitamins. The product is effective in removing carbohydrates and is good for customers who are on a diet. Using this product, a meat analog can contain 20 grams of protein. The proteins used in this product are all plant/vegan material that has been processed. The product creates a flavor that is similar to conventional meat and will not create a huge rejection among customers.

• How does this product work in terms of vitamins and other uses?
  • It can be used as a single meal because it is usually made of protein and an oatmeal-like form. It can also be used after being frozen. After freezing it in the refrigerator, customers can unfreeze it and consume it later as well.
• Is there any reason why you are using plant-based proteins instead of conventional ones?
  • Plant-based proteins are in all of our products and it is being accepted by many customers who are on a diet. As our product can contain up to 20 grams of protein, many people consume it for their health or as a replacement for chicken breast.
• How did you use these proteins?
  • At first, we experimented with a lot of ideas. We put plant-based proteins into powders and put them in our products. Later, we developed our vinegar.
• How do you think people will think of alternative meat like cultured meat or plant-based meat?
  • Firstly, the problem is with the acceptance of these alternatives. Many people are reluctant to try them. If the flavor becomes comparable to conventional meat, and if the price becomes cheaper for customers, I don’t think there will be anybody who would say no to alternative meat. No need to worry.

From these interviews, we've learned that the product is a versatile meal option made from plant-based proteins and oatmeal-like ingredients. Acceptance of alternative meats like cultured and plant-based options remains a challenge but could improve with better taste and pricing. There is recognition that acceptance is a current challenge. However, the interviews suggest that if these alternatives can match the flavor of conventional meat and become more competitively priced, they may see increased adoption in the future.

In their pursuit of a vegan-friendly product line, this company is currently strategizing the integration of plant-based meat. The increasing consumer inclination towards vegetable-centric diets, as opposed to health-conscious or meat-based choices, indicates a promising potential for broadening their customer base through the introduction of plant-based meat. This shifting consumer preference towards plant-based alternatives is a positive signal for their product, suggesting a favorable market reception.

• What might happen if we transition from conventional meat to alternative or cultured meat?
  • We are currently contemplating a shift towards plant-based options with a focus on catering to the vegan market. It's imperative for us to raise awareness and visibility. In the eyes of consumers, there's a growing perception that healthier foods and vegetables are the preferred choices. Consequently, the acceptance and recognition of plant-based meat alternatives are on the rise.

What we've learned is that the company is proactively planning to integrate plant-based meat into its product lineup to target the expanding vegan market. This move aligns with the shifting consumer preference towards healthier, plant-focused diets, and they are actively working on increasing awareness and visibility for their plant-based offerings. This shows a clear strategy to adapt to evolving dietary trends and capitalize on the growing acceptance of plant-based alternatives.

This company specializes in elevating the taste and texture of soy-based meat alternatives, setting them apart from conventional options. By preserving the essence of soy while eliminating artificial enhancers, they've created a tantalizing range of vegan, health-conscious delights. In a world where plant-based living is gaining traction, their dedication to delivering soy-based "meat" that appeals to discerning consumers is reshaping the future of vegan cuisine.

• In that case, are there specific recipes designed to address differences between plant-based meat and real meat, given that the process of creating meat from plants inherently results in some distinctions?
  • We have developed a food product within the category of soy-based cuisine, not necessarily to replace it, but rather as an alternative to the commonly known term "alternative meat," which many of you are already familiar with. It's important to note that our product was not developed with the sole purpose of mimicking the texture of meat. Instead, it was created with the aim of enhancing the texture that Koreans particularly enjoy, even in soy-based foods.
• When creating recipes like this, are there specific considerations that you prioritize, perhaps with a focus on customer preferences?
  • Our primary consideration is that, although we are currently advocating for a reduction in the consumption of meat substitutes, many meat substitute products tend to use artificial flavor enhancers and highly stimulating seasonings to mask the inherent taste of soy. In contrast, our product contains no artificial flavor enhancers or MSG, and it is lightly seasoned with just a touch of salt and pepper. This minimal seasoning is intentionally designed to maximize the natural aroma of soy and, through our proprietary production method, enhance the chewy texture of our product.
• What is the age demographic of individuals who purchase alternative meat products?
  • Due to our use of soy as the primary ingredient, we are also targeting the vegan demographic. Furthermore, in today's generation, there is a prevalent preference for healthier dietary choices. Consequently, we believe that there is a substantial consumer base for our products among health-conscious individuals. Additionally, given the popularity of tofu and related soy products, we anticipate that individuals who already enjoy tofu may also appreciate our offerings, as they align with their taste preferences. Thus, our targeting strategy encompasses these considerations as we explore and reach out to potential consumers.

This interview revealed that this company focuses on developing soy-based cuisine as an alternative to traditional meat, prioritizing texture enhancement over mimicking meat. Their products are distinct in that they avoid artificial flavor enhancers and rely on minimal seasoning to bring out the natural aroma of soy. They aim to attract a diverse customer base, including health-conscious consumers and vegans, capitalizing on the growing preference for healthier dietary choices while also appealing to those who already enjoy tofu and soy-based products. This company's approach reflects a broader shift in consumer preferences towards plant-based options and a desire for more natural and minimally processed ingredients in meat alternatives.

Targeting environmentally-conscious women aged 20-30, this company offers a unique blend of eco-friendly products. Their commitment to sustainability shines through in their packaging, utilizing recycled PET bottles to reduce plastic waste. What sets their products apart is their low-calorie, high-protein content, appealing to health-conscious consumers. With a focus on both wellness and the planet, they've carved a distinctive niche in the market, aligning with the preferences of their discerning demographic.

• What is the typical age range of consumers who purchase this product?
  • Women in their twenties and thirties have shown a notable preference for our products, both in terms of observed purchases and consumer behavior. This age group exhibits a significant interest in sustainability trends and eco-conscious consumption practices.
• Is there a specific reason why those individuals are particularly interested in such trends or matters?
  • It seems that having purchasing power from the early twenties to the mid or late twenties is an important point. As someone in my early twenties, I often come across such situations in my daily life, and this perception seems to be increasing as well.
• Are individuals in their early twenties consuming this product as a dietary supplement?
  • Yes, we are aware that many individuals utilize and consume diet products. Consequently, when we review feedback posted on platforms such as Olive Young or similar websites, we often find that our product is perceived as having relatively lower calorie content, which results in a reduced sense of burden for consumers.

From the interview, we were able to learn that the typical consumers purchasing this product primarily belong to the age range of women in their twenties and thirties. This demographic displays a strong interest in sustainability and eco-conscious consumption. The interviewee suggested that individuals in their early twenties may have a particular affinity for such trends, possibly due to their increased purchasing power and growing awareness of eco-friendly practices. Additionally, some individuals in their early twenties are consuming the product as a dietary supplement, appreciating its lower calorie content as noted in feedback on platforms like Olive Young, which reduces their sense of dietary burden.

This company incorporated cell culturing technology into their agriculture, focusing on mass-producing fruits, specifically strawberries. Despite acknowledging the downside of high cost, the main reason why they adhere to the technology is to prevent a low supply of their products due to contamination of the fruits. Through cell culturing, they can efficiently mass-produce aseptic fruits for supply. They believe the technology will benefit the business more in the long term.

• Why do they advocate in the cultured cells industry?
  • Fruit trees such as strawberries are susceptible to viruses, especially when there is a high possibility of the spread of the virus, which causes the amount of harvest to significantly decrease. The main reason why they are exercising the cell culture technique is to mass-produce products by making contaminated fruits aseptic.
• Does the production increase when they use the technology?
  • These types of plants are capable of proliferation even in containers. Therefore, it is possible to mass proliferate products and supply at the same time. This means that the technology allows them to efficiently mass-produce fruits in a relatively short amount of time compared to conventional farming.
• How long do plants stay in the containers?
  • Plants stay in the containers until suppliers choose and set prices for them, which might take 2 to 3 years or even up to 5 to 8 years. This means that they can be cultivated in the containers as long as they require.
• Does it not cost a lot to operate cell culture technology?
  • As cell culturing technology is not easy to approach, the price is high. Therefore, an education program takes place every year to change the perception of cell culture technology.
• Considering the high cost of cell culture technology, is it much more efficient to grow plants using this technology than cultivating them in soil?
  • There are pros and cons; no matter the amount of effort put in, there will always be viruses in farms. However, it is nearly impossible to extract plant cells and manipulate them with current technology, which leads to the choice of cell culturing. In addition to this, the long amount of time required for plants to be sold after starting cell culturing also contributes to the high price. Regardless, cell culture technology will benefit the business in the long term.
• Is there any farm in Korea that uses this technology?
  • The majority of apples, strawberries, pears, cherries, and other fruits we consume go through the process.

Although still developing, cell culture technology is rising as a future solution in various aspects of agriculture and the food industry. This company, specifically, is exercising a novel approach to strawberry harvesting through the use of cell culture technology. Therefore, this remarks the importance of our project in contributing to the improvement of the technology. From this interview, we learned that we still need improvements in operating the technology, especially regarding the high cost of producing the products. Through this, we could set lowering the price of production of cultured meat as the primary goal of our project.

This company is primarily focusing on developing artificially created meat ranging from plant-based meat to lab-cultured meat. From the discussion, our team could have a conversation about the current technology of artificially developed meat and its potential in the conventional market.

• Is the taste of cultured meat different from normal meat, obtained from cows?
  • Since in theory, cultured meat is a result of proliferating actual bovine cells, there is no significant difference in flavor or taste. However, when vegan factors are involved, there is indeed a noticeable difference.
• What is an advantage that cultured meat has over naturally grown meat?
  • A benefit that cultured meat has over vegan meat is that cultured meat not only can prevent environmental pollution like vegan meat but also can provide similar tastes as normal meat. Though it is different when based on vegan levels, cultured meat creates positive feedback from those who do not eat meat due to the death of animals.
• Then, is recreating large pieces of meat, for example, creating steak possible?
  • It is difficult to implement a perfect cultured meat steak as it needs a lot of cells to proliferate. Due to this fact, cultured meat was initially created in a sausage-like form.
• What approaches should producers take to alleviate the negative impression of cultured meat due to its high price?
  • The key focus should be on how to alleviate the negative views from people due to the prohibitive price of cultured meat. Some methods include getting help from large food companies and the governmental system by advertising to get approval from the Ministry of Food and Drugs.

This interview revealed a hopeful projection of lab-cultured meat in the consumer market. One of the largest barriers to lab-cultured meat is to sustain the taste and texture of natural meat. This was once projected to be one of the largest issues of consumers being reluctant to consume lab-cultured meat. The meeting with him was a pivotal moment in our project because we found a method of solving one of the concerns and barriers. Additionally, one very valuable take from this conversation was regarding the negative impression of cultured meat due to its price. As he indicated, one promising approach to this problem is getting support from larger food companies and approval from the Ministry of Food and Drugs. By doing so, our project could be conventionalized faster and more widely, ultimately bringing us closer to our ultimate goal of achieving environmental benefits and ethical advantages of lab-cultured meat.

This interviewee believed that although 3D-printed meat is indeed a type of cultured meat, it is still significantly more pricey as there are additional steps taken compared to the former, cultured meat. To elaborate, the cells and the nutrient broth are priced extremely high; numerous researchers and pioneering food companies are seeking an alternative to these materials as an effort to lower prices, thus allowing mass production and conventionalization. The target price mentioned by the 7th start-up company is approximately the price of imported beef, which is significantly lower than domestically produced beef in Korea.

• Is getting a license and approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety considered difficult?
  • The authorization of cultured meat is more difficult than the authorization of vegetable-produced meat such as meat produced with beans already exists. Since lab-cultured meat has been produced for the purpose of research and academia, it has never been tried on people. However, recently, many countries started embarking on a sustainable food industry, with cultured meat being authorized as a legitimate food course in Singapore last year. As of now, there are two authorized retailers in the US. The overall approach to cultured meat can be seen as cautious, yet deliberate.
• In the status quo, naturally produced meat is dominating the conventional meat market. When do you think this will change?
  • In about 10 years' time, there is projected to be about 50% natural meat and 50% cultured meat.
• Natural meat overtakes cultured meat in almost all aspects such as texture, flavor, and other aspects. How do you think cultured meat and natural meat can coexist? What reasons might there be for people to prefer cultured meat?
  • Vegans are one of the most anticipated groups of customers. Since cultured meat doesn't kill animals, cultured meat can be a friendly approach to various types of vegans.

From this interaction, our team learned about the promising future of cultured meat. Since the ultimate goal of Korea-HS is to conventionalize cultured meat in the status quo, learning the specific processes and current approaches to conventionalization was meaningful for our team. Although lab-cultured beef is more challenging to get approval than plant-based beef, it has its unique advantage as it consists of bovine cells. Through this discussion, our team could further solidify some of the future steps we as a team promoting the sustainable food industry should take. Additionally, it was also a great opportunity to realize anticipation for lab-cultured meat. With various types of vegans and other people with beliefs of not eating natural beef, our formula might not only be a more sustainable food option for the future but also a new nutritional solution for a certain group of people.

At the AFRO booth, this interviewee mixed vegetables and natural cheese to make nuggets that tasted like gratin when eaten in a small bite. He also made a sweet pumpkin dish that children can enjoy like pizza by mixing things like paprika and onions that children don't eat often. His goal was to process vegetables safely and develop a fast food style of gratin that modern people can eat conveniently. The product to be released next month is a vegan cream soup made without dairy, cheese, or flour-based vegetable cream.

• Did you exclude meat and use only vegetables?
  • No meat is used, only vegetables are added, and natural cheese is used at its minimum level to bring out the flavor of the food, making it taste like pasta or pizza.
• Isn't the price particularly expensive?
  • The price is about 8,000 won per pack on average, which is a bit higher compared to regular chicken nuggets on the market. The reason is that they use 100% domestic agricultural products without pesticides and natural products, and they are preferred by parents who prioritize their children's health.
• Aren't prices more controlled?
  • The price is slightly higher compared to regular chicken nuggets at an average of 8,000 won per pack, but the reason is that they are 100% domestically produced. We use pesticide-free and natural products and are highly preferred by parents who prioritize their children's health.

Throughout his business, we learned that business owners or startup planners are willing to gain customers’ credibility by ensuring the safety of their food while spreading the significance of natural foods produced without using any harmful pesticides. After all, our team Korea-HS planned to ensure the safety of human health and the environment when chemicals are employed in every single activity. We thoroughly explained the procedures and chemicals we employed during the lab when testing the efficiency of Afamin/Wnt3a enriched media in an experiment document. Also, to support startup companies or future entrepreneurs who are willing to produce synthetic biology-based food, we created our own ethics policy guidebook proposing all businesses or future investors specify all ingredients, and chemicals they are using when producing synthetic biology-based food.

This company produces cultured meat created with beans. Their products are specifically targeted toward vegans and they use their unique skills, technology, and techniques to create the texture and the taste of conventional meat. They also create diverse tastes and flavors using seasoning with mild and small usage of additions. Their products are mainly attractive to people who like vegan or dietary products, and they create their products in diverse sizes selling their products in slices packaged up.

• Do vegans usually eat these plant-based meats?
  • Yes, it's a product that was originally targeted at vegans.
• Is there a way to use plants like this as much as possible?
  • Our patented technology makes the taste and texture similar. If you look at the products on display, the rest of the flavors are being tested, so we only have these two flavors, which are eggplants, and we sell them in bite-sized pieces with the seasoning spread out. In case of this product, it is scheduled to be released in the second half of this year, and we are gradually increasing the number of products as we enter B2B. We put seasoning on raw materials, so we can easily create and implement the various flavors by choosing and creating a variety of seasonings.
• Do you strengthen seasoning to keep up with the taste of natural meat?
  • Usually, they don't, but we enhance the seasoning to make it taste good or to make the beans feel less like the textured beans.

Overall, we learned about their unique technology to create the taste and texture of the food, yet we could not apply it to our product because the technology was not accessible to us. On the other hand, we could imply the importance of the taste and texture of the cultured meat to our ethical manual for one of our integrated HP manuals. Thus, we utilized and emphasized the importance of taste and texture while creating our guidelines for synthetic food and biology.

This company plans to produce vegan hamburgers. They specified how they chose not to use substitute meat due to the unknown long-term impacts on children during adolescence. Their target demographic is children who need to order food delivery often at home, aiming to provide an alternative that is more economical, environmental, and nutritional.

• Do you use substitute meat?
  • We are currently not using substitute meat. Instead, we are planning to project on making vegan hamburgers, which are expected to be commercialized next year. We decided not to use substitute meat due to the unknown impacts of long-term substitute meat consumption on children during adolescence and the continually held vegan movements in schools.
• Do you have plans to use cultivated meat?
  • We are not proactive in using cultivated meats for now, but we are expecting to use them someday.
• Do you have plans to use cultivated meat if they are permitted to be safe?
  • If they are completely permitted, we will, but I know that cultivated meats are hard to be completely approved.
• What will you do to make this frozen food product appear healthy?
  • When kids are at home, they deliver food more frequently than expected. Frozen food could be an alternative to these delivery foods. It offers several advantages including cost savings on delivery fees, reduced air pollution associated with food delivery, and decreased use of disposable containers. Thus, frozen food proves advantageous from economic, environmental, and nutritional aspects. In addition, frozen food has a higher level of credibility as it provides information about approved ingredients and production processes. On the other hand, for delivery of food, we cannot know the origins and handling of the ingredients used. Despite how frozen foods are sold in school cafeterias, they are generally perceived as lacking nutrition. We lowered the sodium content considerably and are continuously making efforts to make our products healthier, under the responsibility that our product is for children during adolescence.

From this interview, we learned how the company is taking steps to consider the public perception of its product and address these concerns accordingly through product improvement or effective marketing. We were able to form connections with previous discussions regarding the importance of public perception and marketing and take that into consideration when conveying our project.

This company sells food additive ingredients that give the taste of meat. Previously, they have created four different flavors of beef, pork, chicken, and lamb and are currently in the process of developing a duck flavor.

• Can everything that produces the flavor of meat be found in plants?
  • The differences in the four flavors are from molecules that combine ten or more amino acids and iron minerals, resulting in different mixing ratios and extraction methods.
• How would you describe what’s special about this product?
  • Other products are sold and promoted using finished products made by mixing food ingredients, but ours is different because we sell additive ingredients that give the taste of meat. It can be used flexibly as a substitute for meat. Different countries have different taste preferences when it comes to meat There may be a taste of meat that Koreans prefer and a taste of meat that Americans prefer. Our product is tailored to the taste of Korean meat, so it will be suitable for entering the Korean market.
• Could you explain how this product can be used?
  • The developed plant protein can be flavored like a seasoning and can therefore be easily made at home. When the patty is heated, browning occurs and the texture and taste become like that of meat.
• Why do you only sell additive materials instead of finished products?
  • There are already so many finished products on the market and no differentiation between them. We believe that the most important thing about alternative meat is taste, with the key being how close it is to the taste of actual meat.
• So, if this ingredient is sprinkled on cultured meat, will it be able to bring out the flavor of the meat properly?
  • Yes, as it can be used to flavor meat. In fact, the cultured meat currently being developed does not have the proper aroma and taste of meat. Therefore, we need ingredients that can compensate for this lack. The fact that one can use our product instead of chemical additives is our company’s differentiation.
• Do you believe that this type of additive ingredient product is more likely to be used in restaurants compared to at home?
  • Food companies and factories use the product to complete their recipes, and at home, it is used as an alternative to seasoning. Either way, it plays a role in supplementing the taste and aroma of meat as well as iron and amino acids. It is superior to simple seasoning.

From this interview, we learned the beneficial stance of marketing the company’s product as bearing more health benefits, such as the additional iron and amino acid content. We also learned how the company caters to taste as the most important factor for creating alternative meat through developing many flavors. The interviewee stressed the differentiation of their product from others on the market, inspiring us to also emphasize the distinct potential benefits of our project. The company’s strategy attracts consumers through its proposed benefits over substitute products and its consumer-focused approach such as appealing to familiarity through developing meat flavors that closely resemble the taste of actual meat.

Activists

Dr. Martina Stephany, Director of Farm Animals and Nutrition at FOUR PAWS, is a leading advocate for animal rights and environmental responsibility. FOUR PAWS is dedicated to fostering a world where animals are treated with respect and empathy. Dr. Stephany's expertise in animal science and her call for UN members to address harmful livestock systems make her a credible voice in the field. She emphasizes that animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with 80 billion animals slaughtered annually, leading to severe suffering and environmental consequences. We interviewed Dr. Stephany to gain insights into our project's potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. She stressed that factory farming, besides causing immense animal suffering, also poses environmental threats, including biodiversity loss and antibiotic resistance. An ethical concern she raised was the fragmented responsibility within the industry, where no one takes charge of an animal's entire life cycle. This fragmentation raises ethical questions. Our interview with Dr. Stephany highlights the pressing need to address these environmental and ethical challenges in animal agriculture. In analyzing her feedback, we recognize the urgency of our project's goals. It aligns with the imperative to transition from resource-intensive livestock systems, but challenges such as industry resistance and public misconceptions must be addressed. This interview enriches our Integrated Human Practices, emphasizing public education and transparency. The impact of our project resonates globally, as it aims to alleviate suffering, reduce environmental harm, and promote ethical practices in food production.

Dr. Sharoni is an active biologist with a master's degree from Harvard Bioethics. She is also an active environmentalist on social media, and an entrepreneur working for the betterment of human life through the use of biology. There are mainly two reasons why we deliberately contacted Erin Sharoni as one of our stakeholders to interview and get to know her better. First, our team, Korea-HS, wanted to get a deeper understanding of our project from a bioethics point of view. Second, our team wanted opinions. During the meeting, we were able to obtain valuable information about the need for cultured meat from the industry. Dr. Sharoni emphasizes the cruelty in current meat production processes and how even FBS, a formula for current cultured meat, is created by an unethical process of extracting blood from live cattle. When we mentioned our new method of producing cultured meat in a relatively ethical and price-efficient manner, she expressed great interest and relief that the future might not involve such inhumane practices just for the consumption of meat. She loved our idea and further gave us advice about how to conventionalize this evolutionary idea; as she had various connections with current sustainable food companies, she told us how these companies operated in great detail. Overall, the interview with Dr. Erin Sharoni was an insightful opportunity for our team to both listen to the perspective of a bioethics expert and a chance for us to reevaluate our project’s sustainability from a bioethics expert in the industry.

Seb Alex is an animal rights activist, lecturer, photojournalist, and author who believes that “the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all injustice.” In the past few years, Seb has given animal rights advocacy workshops to over 1300+ activists across Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, has helped launch the world’s first animal rights and vegan support center, and has published the free eBook “When Animal Rights & Logic Meet” in 20 languages. We chose to interview Seb Alex because we wanted to hear an opinion about our project from the perspective of a passionate vegan animal rights activist. During the interview, he stated that “as long as we have the option not to harm other animals and kill them and violate their basic moral rights, then we should choose that.” His stance was that cultured meat may be an option for those who cannot give up animal meat but do not want to harm animals. Moreover, he discussed ways to increase social media outreach as an influencer, such as deliberately using hashtags related to conventional meat (e.g. #bacon) to promote his content by expanding his demographic. In terms of our project, he commented that the importance lies in developing the mass production of plant-based and lab-cultured meat in order to result in fewer animal deaths and less environmental impact. In terms of obstacles, he mentioned the cost of production, obtaining government approval due to competitive firms and social conspiracies to be the largest factors in advancing the consumption of lab-cultured meat, especially adding that “people have this idea that anything that is grown in a lab is inherently bad.” Additionally, he discussed the health benefits of consuming plant-based or lab-cultured meat over consuming traditional meat, expressing that we can lead better lifestyles with lower amounts of fat and cholesterol. As solutions, he believes in educating the public and higher transparency from firms producing lab-cultured meat.

Mat McDermott, currently serving as the Senior Director of Communications for the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), possesses extensive expertise in Hinduism, making him an invaluable interviewee for our project focused on lab-cultured meat. Our team approached Mat to gain insight into a Hindu's personal views on lab-cultured meat, particularly given the sacred status of cows in Hinduism, which often results in their non-consumption. Mat plays a pivotal role in representing and advocating for Hindu interests in the United States. His profound understanding and relationship with Hinduism allowed him to provide valuable insights into our project's key aspects. Our rationale for choosing Mat McDermott as our interviewee was twofold. First, we aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how the Hindu community perceives lab-cultured meat, considering that cows are revered in Hinduism. Mat's expertise helped us delve into the intricacies of Hindu beliefs and their dietary practices, especially in relation to the consumption of lab-cultured meat. Second, Mat's unique ability to contextualize Hindu beliefs with those of other religions regarding food provided us with a broader perspective. This allowed us to explore commonalities and differences in various religious approaches to dietary choices and the potential acceptance of lab-cultured meat across diverse faiths. During the interview, Mat emphasized that the primary concern within the Hindu community regarding lab-cultured meat is its potential environmental impact. Unlike concerns related to divine design or natural order, the Hindu community, as he highlighted, is pro-science. Therefore, the central focus lies on sustainable and environmentally responsible approaches in meat production. Mat's insights have been instrumental in guiding our project's approach, ensuring that we consider the unique perspective of the Hindu community and prioritize sustainability. In conclusion, this interview with Mat McDermott has enriched our project by providing a comprehensive understanding of Hindu views on lab-cultured meat and how these align with the community's pro-science stance and environmental concerns.

Cherry Sung is a student environmental activist who is dedicated to raising awareness about climate change and protecting the planet. She has been campaigning for several years and has already achieved significant results. She is determined to continue her efforts and make a difference in the fight against climate change. We chose to interview Cherry Sung because she is an enthusiastic, student environmental activist who is inquisitive about the effects of cultured meat on the environment. During the interview, she said that a product, completely artificial meat, will be risky and maybe irresponsible to the world, so slowly transitioning from traditional to cultured meat systems will be safer and easier for our society to balance out the different national resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, she concluded that our project has a significant positive impact and is a responsible project for the world. Yet the product should be considered in various stakeholders' minds since lab-grown meat can bring a backlash to other stakeholders. Additionally, she said, “So, only if you raise the awareness and reduce the bias or stereotypes against cultured meat, I think your project will be very helpful to grow more cultured meat and solve environmental issues.”Our team has built the interview as one of the standards for our ethical guidelines for integrated human practices. For our company and team manual for synthetic biology, we quoted and implemented her thoughts on environmental ethics to create a thorough category and guideline list: Environmental Stewardship which talks about the ecosystem Balance: Analyze the potential for GMOs to become invasive, harming native ecosystems and resource Management: Employ practices that conserve water, reduce chemical usage, and reduce energy consumption. Later we did a follow-up interview with Cherry again to talk about our ethical guidelines and our integrated HP, and she mentioned that the guideline was detailed and covered enough, and she added that future biology teams and companies would be able to enthusiastically follow these guidelines and make an environmentally ethical project.

Margaret Patron was a vegan and is a vegetarian for now. She turned to vegetarianism since she gained a deeper aspect of where food comes from, and how food is processed from agriculture. As she started doing research about food processing from farms, and agriculture to our table, she learned that current meat consumption involved serious ethical issues, water pollution, and inappropriate waste management. Thus, she thinks that cultured meat is a great alternative for people who want to consume meat but feel guilty, and that is why our project is so valuable to our society. Since it’s a very relatable issue, our Wnt3a/Afamin conditioned media can be a solution to further expand alternative choice of eating meat which is cultivated meat. Of course, there were concerns about our project. In her perspective, the first concern was against chemicals we use to produce afamin/Wnt3a conditioned media. She wanted us to disclose every single type of chemical that we used to ensure the safety of the product to customers. Also, she stated that if the process of cultivating meat involves the usage of FBS, and fetal bovine serum, vegans or vegetarians will still never go to eat them regardless of all environmental advantages. The second main concern is the ‘lack of education’. According to her research, some nations with a high population of vegans and vegetarians were well educated regarding animal ethical issues, but some poor nations lack education on why traditional meat consumption isn't ethical. Thus, she wanted us to define what specifically is synthetic biology-based food and why their process of cultivation is ethical while the traditional meat production process isn’t. Considering her thoughtful feedback, our Human Practice team has come up with an amazing project, creating a guidebook for people who are willing to learn about synthetic biology-based foods and who had no opportunity to receive an education about these topics. Our guidebook defined what synthetic biology-based food meant, how it is regulated, how it should be enhanced, what are some advantages and disadvantages of using them, and proposed our own policies about handling the safety and security of synthetic biology-based food. Through this, we can educate, raise awareness, and advocate the safe protocols to follow when cultivating meat using our conditioned media to future investors or business owners.

Consumers

Chef Filippo Abisso is a culinary expert and a master hotel chef who has worked in numerous five-star and flagship hotels around the world. Currently, he is serving as the Director of Culinary Operations at Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts. There are mainly two reasons why we deliberately contacted Chef Filippo Abisso as one of our stakeholders to interview and get to know him better. First is because we wanted to learn from the perspective of a consumer who uses beef to create another food and serve it to the customers. The majority of our stakeholders are either from academia, researching the biology behind lab-cultured meat, or direct producers who breed cattle as their living. While their answers are expected to a certain extent, the person in the middle, that uses the beef from the primary producers, is what got our team curious. Second, as Chef Filippo Abisso has experience working at various high-end hotels, we wanted to get his opinion on implementing an experimental food ingredient in premium restaurants. Since the majority of the customers are naturally expecting high-quality beef at a high price, our team wondered if the implementation of lab-cultured meat would still be applicable in this context. Overall, the interview with the chef allowed us to explore the various perspectives from numerous fields of business. During the interview, Chef Filippo Abisso stressed the need for new food sources. He was extremely aware of the current food shortage situation and responded that “we would eventually have to do something”. He said that he could implement this beef on his menu, first by labeling them like vegan and vegetarian menus, and if that shows steady sales, he projects cultured beef to be the main food ingredient. He additionally mentioned that we should prove the quality of cell differentiation and proliferation process so that people can safely consume meat and restaurants can easily implement them. In conclusion, our interview with Chef Filippo Abisso has positively impacted our team to explore deeper into the food industry and reevaluate the potential of lab-cultured meat in various restaurants in the status quo.

We chose to interview a pasture manager to gain insights into the current livestock market and his perspective on the success of cultivated meat in terms of consumer preference. According to his response, resource costs for livestock production, including those for agricultural machinery and bulky cattle feed, tend to fluctuate in response to market changes. It is said that pastures that are unable to adapt to these fluctuations may need to consider discontinuing their operations. Also, he highlighted the environmental challenges associated with current livestock production, emphasizing the excessive resource consumption and environmental issues faced by pastures. As it is evident the process of producing livestock is harmful in various aspects, he insisted that markets should try to maintain specific production levels rather than pursuing reckless production for profit. Furthermore, we also inquired about the potential for cultivated meat to entirely replace the traditionally produced meat. In response, he suggested that consumers, who are familiar with the taste and texture of the traditionally produced meat, would prefer it unless the cultivated meat becomes significantly more cost-effective or traditional meat production becomes unsustainable due to environmental constraints. Through the interview, we were able to know the challenges faced by pastures and the need to find solutions to make a balance between traditional meat production and cultivated meats.

In our interviews conducted in Namdaemun market, Seoul, we interviewed a butcher shop manager and citizens, aiming to understand the current situation of butcher shop demands, as well as gather personal opinions of cultivated meat. Firstly, we asked the butcher shop manager about the economic status of butcher shops. He mentioned that the demand for meat in butcher shops among consumers is decreasing due to the growing popularity of veganism and media representations of meat. Subsequently, we engaged market citizens about their awareness and personal opinions regarding cultivated meat. Initially unfamiliar with the concept, we provided a brief explanation of cultivated meat for them. After listening to the explanation, they showed predominantly negative reactions, driven by concerns about the unfamiliarity and perceived risks associated with the cultivated meat production process. They expressed reservations about not knowing the ingredients or the process, deeming it potentially risky and unethical. Through these interviews in the Namdaemun market, we discerned the importance of spreading accurate information about the cultivation process of lab-grown meat and emphasizing its ethical aspects for consumers. Furthermore, given the increasing consumer interest in healthy and ethical food trends, such as veganism, transparency regarding the ethical production of cultivated meat becomes even more crucial.

In order to ask opinions against lab-grown meat and collect stereotypes associated with lab-grown meat, we directly engaged with the general public. We simply asked three main questions to consumers randomly. To ensure confidentiality and fairness, we randomly asked people moving in two different subway stations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There were a few takeaways from the sticker survey. The first question asked if you heard of cultured meat or not. 12 out of 16 responded yes. The second question asked if you ever tried cultured meat. 8 out of 16 responded no. The third question asked if you are willing to purchase cultured meat if the price was equal to that of conventional meat. 11 of 13 responses said yes, showing quite positive reactions towards consuming cultivated meat. Then, we conducted a second consumer survey asking one question; which factor is most important when buying meat among price, quality, manufacturing method, and fat proportion? The frequency of response has decreased from left to right: quality, manufacturing method, price, and fat proportion. Thus, we noticed that quality impacts consumer’s decisions the most in a market. Some of them even replied that they had never seen lab-grown meat in a market. Through this survey results, we were able to gauge the general opinion surrounding cultured meat and learn that 75% know what cultured meat is, 50% of them have actually tried some cultured meat, and 84.6% of them are willing to buy cultured meat, which showed the need to commercialize the cultivated meat in the Korean market.

Our team distributed online consumer surveys about our project to gain insights into the general trend of concerns regarding cultured meat among the public. Through the survey, it could be observed that more than 50% of the population is still not familiar with the topic of cultured meat. Also, it could be seen that one of the main concerns regarding the topic was the uncertainty of the safety of the product. As the topic is not well-known to the public yet, consumers seem to still feel unsafe about the consumption of the products. It was also brought to our attention that some of the consumers seem to recognize the positive sides of cultured meat, but they still are not willing to purchase cultured meat as their main source of consuming meat with a similar price as a substitute for conventionally produced meat. The survey was mass distributed to consumers of various ages, genders, nationalities, and ethnic groups, meaning the results are appropriate to represent the general trend of consumers. Recognizing that the main source of problems that are evoking concerns of the consumers is a lack of awareness in the topic, our team has decided to focus on improving that. To aim to spread the information to the general public, we posted various information on our social media and created advertisements in subway stations in Seoul, Korea, focusing on establishing them on stations where people from different groups tend to gather a lot. We also worked on creating manuals and proposals regarding the rules of cultured meat, hoping to improve existing stigma regarding the topic by adjusting regulations.

Integrated Human Practices

Manuals

We, the Korea-HS team constructed 2 HP manuals, Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Policy Framework and Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Scale-Up Manual. The Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Policy Framework discusses the current status in the meat industry and efforts to conventionalize cultured meat in the status quo. On the other hand, the Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Scale-Up Manual elaborates on some of the critical guidelines for future food companies and organizations should follow. We believe that these manuals have the potential to carry far-reaching implications for both the future of the food industry and our team’s Integrated Human Practices. The motivation behind creating these manuals is twofold. First, these manuals are significant as they address critical challenges and opportunities within the field of synthetic biology-based food production. With growing concerns about traditional food production, including environmental sustainability and the need to feed a rapidly increasing global population, we recognized that innovative solutions were needed. Motivated by the pressing issues of today, such as limited space for traditional agriculture, excessive CO2 emissions, and the destruction of natural environments, we sought to explore how synthetic biology-based food production could offer a more sustainable and ethical approach to food provisioning. Secondly, we were motivated by the critical importance of engaging in Integrated Human Practices within the context of the food industry, which entails a multidisciplinary approach that considers the social, ethical, and environmental aspects of scientific and technological innovations. These manuals represent our commitment to understanding and addressing these concerns through comprehensive guidelines and policies that bridge the gap between science and society. By creating these manuals, we aimed to not only delve into the scientific aspects but also explore the broader impacts on society and the environment, thus exemplifying the principles of Integrated Human Practices. The development of the manuals was a strategic step towards integrating human practices into our synthetic biology project. In the Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Policy Framework, we investigated the regulatory and safety aspects of synthetic biology-derived food products. This exploration served as a foundation for understanding how these innovations interact with consumers, the environment, and existing regulatory frameworks. This knowledge was vital in shaping our approach to ethical and sustainable practices. Simultaneously, the Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Scale-Up Manual contributed to our Integrated Human Practices by laying out guidelines for future food companies and organizations. It built upon the insights from the Policy Framework to provide practical, ethical, and environmentally conscious recommendations for those entering the industry. This manual served as a bridge between the scientific community and the food industry, emphasizing the importance of responsible innovation and sustainability, aligning with the ethos of Integrated Human Practices. Realistic Impacts of the Manuals: Informing Policy and Regulation: The Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Policy Framework serves as a reference for policymakers and regulatory bodies. It advocates for clear guidelines, safety assessments, and transparent labeling requirements, ultimately shaping the regulatory landscape of synthetic biology-based food products. This can have far-reaching effects on ensuring consumer safety and ethical practices in the industry. Guiding Future Practices: The Synthetic Biology-Based Food Production Scale-Up Manual offers a practical roadmap for businesses entering the field. Providing guidelines that emphasize sustainability, ethics, and environmental considerations, can influence the practices and strategies of future food companies. This can lead to a more sustainable and responsible food industry, addressing the challenges of today and the future. Integrated Human Practices: Both manuals have had a profound impact on our team's understanding of Integrated Human Practices. They enabled us to delve deeper into the societal and environmental aspects of synthetic biology, fostering a more comprehensive approach to scientific research. Our team's Integrated Human Practices have been significantly enriched through the creation of these manuals. In retrospect, these manuals have proven to be a pivotal aspect of our synthetic biology project. They have not only provided guidance to external stakeholders, but they have also been invaluable in our own journey of understanding and integrating the human aspects of our scientific work. They reflect our commitment to scientific responsibility, ethical innovation, and environmental sustainability. Through these manuals, our team has contributed to a broader discussion on the responsible use of synthetic biology in food production. Moreover, the experience of creating these manuals has enriched our Integrated Human Practices, fostering a holistic approach to science and technology that considers the broader implications and impacts on society and the environment. These manuals, therefore, stand as a testament to our dedication to responsible and ethical innovation and our commitment to shaping a sustainable future in the field of synthetic biology-based food production.

Poster

Our team originally designed this poster with a subway advertisement in mind; however, due to financial limitations, we were unable to purchase an advertisement slot. Instead, we decided to continue to raise awareness by spreading our poster around 12 different international school communities, including the following:

Cheongna Dalton International School Branksome Hall Asia Crean Lutheran High School The Harker School Dulwich College Seoul Concordia International School Shanghai Chadwick International School Songdo Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies Korea International School Jeju Phillips Academy Andover Seoul International School Cornerstone Collegiate Academy of Seoul

In addition, members gave presentations on our project in several internal school clubs and societies. By this means, we were able to increase awareness and education about cultured meat to an extensive student demographic.

Responding to Stakeholders’ Feedback

[Responding to Stakeholders’ Feedback]

In our pursuit of developing our project, we recognized the necessity of seeking guidance from experts in the field. We got our first insight from Simple Planet, a company that implemented environmental technology due to cell culture platform technology and aims to create an environment in which the future food of cells is being developed in an organized procedure. They quoted that our team’s project has a significant drawback: the production and commercialization of cultured meat will take at least 5 - 10 years because of its texture, taste, and slow production speed. Because our project manifests the proteins (wnt3a and afamin) individually, our team has determined that we need to reduce the time it takes to express the two proteins to improve efficiency, success rate, etc. Furthermore, through participating in the International Young Scholars Conference, we submitted a research proposal based on our project hypothesis and were able to get feedback from others during the conference.

Figure 26 (BII-CMV-AfmW3A vector sequence design)

Thus, we implemented the feedback and proposed a final idea to aim for the coexpression of afamin and wnt3a protein. Looking at Figure 1, we can see that the coexpression will create an ideal microenvironment for the growth of bovine muscle cells. The integration of Afamin and Wnt3a in cultured meat in laboratory settings was not recognized during our experiment and procedure, yet thinking about our project offers numerous advantages crucial for the progress of cellular agriculture. Accordingly, this motivated us to base our design on three new parts added to the iGEM Registry of Standard Biological Parts:

BII-CMV-AfmW3A Vector (Part: BBa K4869000) Afamin gene (Part: BBa K4869004) Wnt3a gene (Part: BBa K4869005)

The effective collaboration between Afamin's protective and nutrient transport functions and Wnt3a's expertise in muscle cell development dramatically improves the survival and strength of cultured cells. This connection plays a crucial role in establishing a cohesive cellular milieu, reducing cellular mortality, optimizing output, and augmenting the overall efficacy of the manufacturing procedure. The alignment with the increasing demand (Figure 1. BII-CMV-AfmW3A piggyBac vector contains Afamin and Wnt3a genes.) For sustainable meat, alternatives are of utmost importance, given the escalating pursuit of scalable and economically feasible solutions in cultured meat production.

Moreover, the intricate interplay of these proteins facilitates the optimal enhancement of the progression of muscular tissues. This enables cultured meat to achieve a texture and quality that evokes traditional meat and establishes the foundation for surpassing current benchmarks in meat quality, sustainability, and ethical production. The improvement and modification will also satisfy the comments from the feedback/interviews. The enhancement of tissue growth facilitated by this interaction represents a notable advancement in efforts to tackle the current environmental challenges and resource-intensive characteristics associated with traditional meat production. The simultaneous production of Afamin and Wnt3a provides evidence of the capacity of cultured beef to serve as an ecologically sustainable substitute while maintaining its desirable characteristics in terms of quality and texture. Furthermore, Wnt3a alone as Wnt3 signaling has the aptitude to stimulate the proliferation of muscle stem cells, known as satellite cells, which are indispensable in the production of cultured meat. The activation of the Wnt pathway can induce satellite cells to divide and differentiate into mature muscle cells, which can subsequently be harvested and processed into meat products while upholding principles of sustainability and economic viability.

In summary, the concurrent expression of Afamin and Wnt3a represents a promising strategy in our team's cultured meat production techniques, effectively addressing the disparity between customer demands and the limitations of current production methods. Integrating improved cellular habitats with sustainability establishes a fundamental framework for forthcoming advancements in the respective domain. The convergence described signifies a technological progression and a fundamental change in perspective as it tackles the complex issues surrounding meat production and consumption. This convergence has the potential to create a future in which meat production is both environmentally sustainable and ethically responsible, thereby improving and enhancing our project.

Stable Long-Term Expression

In our pursuit of developing our project, we recognized the necessity of seeking guidance from experts in the field. Dr. Tan, a dedicated researcher in the realm of cell culture technology with a focus on a sustainable future, provided valuable insights. He emphasized the importance of cost-efficiency and sustainability in the cultivation of meat and highlighted the need for innovative solutions in the formulation of growth media. These considerations, he explained, are alternatives to traditional meat production methods. pivotal in driving the widespread adoption of cultured meat as a viable and sustainable. Accordingly, this motivated us to base our design on three new parts added to the iGEM Registry of Standard Biological Parts:

Super PiggyBac Transposase Expression Vector (Part: BBa K4869001) Engineered HEK293 cells containing afamin and wnt3a genes inside the genome (Part: BBa K4869003) Terminal inverted repeat sequence (Part: BBa K4869006)

Our interviews led us to the realization concerning the production of Afamin and Wnt3a in conditioned media at an industry level. It became evident that relying solely on a standard vector for producing Afamin and Wnt3a in conditioned media might not yield the level of efficiency and stability required for large-scale production. To address this concern and enhance stability, we decided to employ a super piggyBac transposase expression vector. The super piggybac transposase expression vector serves as a valuable tool for introducing and stably integrating genetic materials into host cells. By leveraging this advanced vector system, we can ensure the long-term and stable expression of the desired genes, thereby addressing the uncertainties associated with conventional vectors and significantly improving the overall efficiency of the production process. This shift aligns with our commitment to advancing the field of cultured meat production and realizing the potential for a more sustainable future in food production.

Figure 27 (Super PiggyBac Transposase Expression Vector contains Super PiggyBac Transposase gene.)

Advancement of cell proliferation and differentiation in conditioned media

According to an interview between Chef Filippo Abisso and an online poll survey, we noticed stakeholders were concerned about the quality and credibility of our proliferation and differentiation process. Thus, to confirm the effect of our Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media, a PrestoBlue assay was used to measure the magnitude of cell proliferation at five incubation times. After 96 hours of incubation of four types of cultured media conditions, we recorded the microscopic photos after adding the different concentrations of FBS and our Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media. With high-quality microscopic photos, we analyzed the effect of Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media (CM) on Bovine myoblast cell proliferation and differentiation (MyoB).

Figure 28 (Afamin-Wnt3a cultured media enhances cell proliferation and differentiation. The cell image was taken after 96 hours of incubation of four types of cultured media conditions.)

As a result, a 10% concentration of Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media (CM) significantly enhances myoblast cell proliferation, while a 20% concentration of Afamin-Wnt3a CM promotes the differentiation of myoblasts into myocytes and myotubes. Our Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media is a valuable resource for cultivating bovine muscle cells, particularly for cultured beef production. However, when compared to cells treated with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), cells treated with Afamin-Wnt3a CM exhibit a growth effect that is approximately 50% to 60% of that observed in FBS-treated cells.

This quantitative analysis provides us the opportunity to prove the high-quality experiment on the effect of Afamin-Wnt3a CM on cell proliferation and differentiation just as our interviewee Chef Filippo Abisso mentioned. He questioned how we are going to show the effectiveness of our conditioned media with some evidence of cell differentiation and proliferation process so that everyone can safely consume cultured meat.

Follow-Up Interview

Consumer: Vegetarian/Former Vegan

Our team did a follow-up interview with Margaret Patron, who was vegan and now vegetarian, to ask her for a second-round opinion about our new integrated human practice project: ethics policy guidebook and scale-up production policy guidebook. Ms. Patron thinks that both policy guidebooks are wonderful since they allow us to put a lot of information such as the definition of synthetic biology-based food, its significance, policies that companies must follow to ensure safe manufacturing methods, etc. It is great that they are in a packet so that consumers can have an in-depth understanding of the process of applying conditioned media to cultured meat. "Now multiple people from different social backgrounds can understand what your team's mission is, and demanding all companies to disclose the chemical substances used in production is such a great idea to ensure customer safety", she says. Lastly, Ms. Patron loved the proposed advertisement method of our team (projecting a poster on the subway screen door) because projecting a poster on the Seoul subway's screen door can definitely increase awareness of a randomized group of people.

Company: GS Holdings Bio-Industry Manager>

Our team had another follow-up interview with the manager of the GS Holdings Bio-Industry team, who provided us with valuable feedback regarding our project. After hearing about our team and project, especially about Integrated Human Practices projects we conducted, he mainly highlighted our activities manual and poster. Although he holds a strongly positive view towards our efforts in spreading ethical concerns regarding animal welfare and awareness regarding the environment, he was still concerned about the restrictions in the development of cultured meat that may be discussed if the detailed guideline is published. He also showed concerns about the practice of consuming conventional meat completely negatively but solely promoting the consumption of innovative replacements, such as cultured meat or plant-based meat. As consuming meat was always part of human evolution and nature’s law, he was worried about creating a stigma towards those who consume traditionally produced meat, which was included in their diet for a long time. Acknowledging that changing people’s consumption of meat at one moment is almost impossible, our team focused on promoting the rising technology of cultured meat but made sure to not show negative attitudes toward the consumption of conventional meat when executing projects. Even though it is important to spread awareness about the topic, one should not force others to implement the practice in their daily lives.

Proposed Implementation

Overview

Our proposed implementation explains how our project would be applied in the real world in terms of its target demographic, its intended usage, and the process by which it will be employed.

In this section, we will outline who our proposed end users are, how we envision others using our project, and how we would mechanize our project’s usage in the real world.

Figure 29 (Schematic representation of our proposed implementation)

Who Are Your Proposed End Users?

Ultimately, we want our product to reach consumers and secure a place in the commercial meat market for ordinary consumption. Most of the problems brought by traditional meat, such as the overconsumption of natural resources and animal rights violations, arise from its production processes. The fact is that such operations would not be necessary if not for the overwhelming demand for conventionally produced meat.

Our project addresses the core root of the problem: our conditioned medium attempts to provide an alternative form of producing meat that has the potential to mitigate the prevalent harm of the aforementioned issues by efficiently accelerating bovine muscle cell growth in a smaller laboratory environment and reducing animal cruelty. We confidently believe that among the countless consumers of meat around the world, many will also share our passion for reducing the unfortunate environmental impact and animal rights violations involved.

Thus, our target demographic is widely aimed at consumers who wish to consume meat in a way that is more sustainable and cruelty-free than what is traditionally offered in stores. We hope that consumers will accept our product not as a mere replacement for what they see as real meat, but as an innovative and successful solution to the pernicious effects of its traditional counterpart.

How Do You Envision Others Using Your Project?

For our product to reach local stores to be bought and sold for everyday consumption, we first need firms that produce lab-cultured meat to recognize the issues that come with utilizing fetal bovine serum as the main component for a growth factor medium. Through increasing awareness and promoting our solution, we envision relevant firms adopting our conditioned medium within their production process to achieve the desired effect of lower environmental and ethical harm.

Our vision is to see a world where lab-cultured meat can reach a stage of mass production at a low cost of production, which are two stages that are mainly responsible for the disparity between alternative and traditional meat. Our product aims to address these factors by using cells that secrete growth factors to lower the cost of production, hoping to facilitate production on a larger scale and increase demand through higher cost accessibility. Ultimately, we strive to see lab-cultured meat become as competitive in terms of price and demand as traditional meat in the market, and we believe that our project is a stepping stone in achieving that future goal.

How Would You Implement Your Project in The Real World?

Within the bigger picture, our job would be to promote our project to both consumers and firms as a solution for reducing environmental and ethical harm. However, it is undeniable that a major obstacle in making alternative meat forms mainstream is the social reluctance and skepticism associated with their consumption. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to educate the general public by spreading awareness to diminish the hesitant reaction that many people instinctively have in response to novel biotechnology. In particular, it is important to take measures such as elucidating the distinction between plant-based meat and lab-cultivated meat, as the lack of clarification causes lab-cultivated meat to be falsely grouped under the misleading umbrella term of “fake meat”. Additionally, successful marketing strategies are crucial in differentiating lab-cultivated meat from traditional meat, which can take the form of non-controversial labels such as “cruelty-free meat” in stores.

Our Reasoning

In summary, our project aims to show a more sustainable, ethical, and accessible method of producing lab-cultured meat to meat consumers and firms that produce cultivated meat. In particular, we hope to catch the attention of meat consumers who also have concerns surrounding environmental sustainability and animal cruelty by demonstrating our project’s potential to mitigate these serious issues and thus their capacity to help by switching to meat with an alternative production process.

Moreover, we anticipate that the adoption of a conditioned medium as a growth factor serum by cultivated meat firms can increase production at a larger scale with low costs of production, given that our project involves cells that secrete growth factors instead of relying on purchased proteins and fetal bovine serum.

Furthermore, we plan to implement our project in the real world by reducing the public stigma surrounding lab-grown meat. Specifically, we want to achieve this by increasing awareness and using successful marketing techniques to reduce reluctance and skepticism.

To conclude, our vision is to see a world where cultured meat can reach a level of competitiveness that rivals that of conventional meat and become an effective solution to environmental and ethical concerns surrounding the meat industry.

Reflection

Figure 30 (Schematic representation of our reflection)

What Was Your Goal?

The primary objective of our project was to enhance cultured beef production through the development of an affordable media enriched with Afamin and Wnt3a proteins. This study aimed to address the then-existing limitations in cultured beef production and contribute to global challenges related to poverty and malnutrition. We hypothesized that integrating Wnt3a and Afamin proteins would improve cell differentiation within the conditioned media, thereby enhancing the growth of bovine muscle cells. With this objective in focus, our project sought to elucidate how the development of cost-effective conditioned media could optimize cultured beef production, leading to a more sustainable and economical approach.

This overarching objective served as the backbone of our project's structure, guiding its overall progression by breaking down different aims of the study: the development of affordable conditioned media, the optimization of cultured beef production, and the contribution to a more cost-effective and sustainable production method.

Firstly, we aimed to create affordable growth media for beef cell cultures, reducing reliance on expensive fetal bovine serum (FBS). FBS was costly and raised ethical concerns. Our project explored alternative, budget-friendly options that sustained cell growth and differentiation, revolutionizing beef culturing methods. Secondly, we focused on improving cultured beef production. We developed a conditioned medium with Afamin and Wnt3a proteins to enhance efficiency, quality, and scalability. We employed various methods like transfection, cell culture, and protein analysis, carefully designing experiments to find the best ways to promote bovine muscle cell growth and differentiation. Lastly, we aimed to make cultured beef production cost-effective and sustainable, addressing global beef production challenges. Our goal was to reduce the need for large land areas, water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional livestock farming, while also considering animal welfare. Our project aligned with broader environmental and ethical objectives in food production.

What Approach Did You Use?

In terms of our experimental design, our methodology can be split into 3 main steps. The first step is the establishment of Afamin-Wnt3a producer cells, where we used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis to assess the presence of proteins in the BII-CMV-AfmW3A vector. The second step is generating the Afamin-Wnt3a enriched media through HEK293T producer cells that are competent in producing a growth medium that does not contain serum. Finally, the third step is analyzing the growth rate of bovine muscle cells for meat production using the Bradford assay, the western blot, a cell proliferation assay, and data analysis of the expression levels of genes associated with muscle growth and differentiation.

In order to integrate Human Practices into our project design, we received insights from industry expert stakeholders. We responded to suggested limitations such as a lengthy commercialization time by proposing protein coexpression, long-term stable expression by employing a Super PiggyBac transposase expression vector, and credibility by using PrestoBlue assay to confirm the enhanced cell proliferation. Moreover, we created manuals and proposals for cultured meat regulations, outlining solutions such as maintaining transparency of ingredients and spreading awareness about the environmental and ethical issues with traditional meat.

What Did You Achieve?

The experimental results of the PrestoBlue assay showed that a 10% concentration of Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media significantly enhances cell proliferation. Compared to cells treated with 10% fetal bovine serum, cells treated with Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media exhibit a growth effect that is approximately 50% to 60% of that observed in cells treated with fetal bovine serum.

Not only that, through our work in Human Practices, we were able to broaden our worldview by connecting with various stakeholders in diverse communities. By implementing feedback from companies, activists, academia, and consumers, we were able to shape our project into one that reflects our community and the people within the cultured meat industry.

What Went Well & What Could Be Improved?

Our results proved our hypothesis that integrating Wnt3a and Afamin proteins would improve cell differentiation within the conditioned media, thereby enhancing the growth of bovine muscle cells. We were also able to carry out 28 interviews across 4 distinct stakeholder categories in total, demonstrating a thorough engagement with the community and industry.

In hindsight, we could have gone further with our outreach and explored more ways of promoting our project without financial limitations, such as more social media engagement. We also could have collaborated with more iGEM teams to provide deeper peer support and review as well as grow our network.

How Could Other iGEM Teams Build Upon Your Contributions?

We encourage other iGEM teams to build upon our contributions in creating a policy framework and manual. These protocols can be used by future iGEM teams to further their knowledge of the gaps present between current policies and research efforts. Overall, our project contributed to a more cost-effective and sustainable production method.

References

Figure 31 (Schematic representation of our references)

Figure 32 (Schematic representation of our references continued)

Team BUCT

China has accomplished the project tightly related to our project, promoting cultivated meat, but in a different way. When comparing the work of them and our team, it is clear that our teams have made significant improvements in gathering diverse opinions from 20+ stakeholders. While China's BUCT team has laid a foundation for this critical aspect, our team took a more comprehensive, time-consuming approach by contacting more than 60 stakeholders including meat producers, meat consumers, religious people, professionals working in the field of synthetic biology, farm owners, etc. Team BUCT has focused more on the educating part while our team focused more on the engagement of stakeholders. We visited Agri Tech Expos, and farms physically, and interviewed about 15 individuals through Zoom to gather comprehensive feedback on our Afamin/Wnt3a conditioned media. After conducting in-depth interviews with stakeholders from different cultural and social backgrounds, we deliberately attempted to collect a wide spectrum of perspectives and how cultured meat production can positively/negatively impact their lives. Then after gathering their first-round feedback, Korea-HS has conducted two additional integrated human practice projects: an ethics policy guidebook and a scale-up production policy guidebook. While BUCT conducted a joint lecture, our team's project policy guidebooks improved safety processes and procedures with the aid of significant insights and concerns gained from numerous interviews we had with stakeholders over the past 7 months.

Team Yonsei Korea 2021

We found similarities between Yonsei Korea and our team in the approach to gathering stakeholders’ ideas, especially contributors in farming. We both went to a farm and interviewed farm owners about their opinions on the team's project. In their case, their project was to find a way to kill the rice blasts to increase the productivity of rice in Korea where most of the population is a heavy rice consumer. To learn valuable insights and feedback about their integrated human practice methods, we asked them for feedback and they highlighted the importance of applications of synthetic biology in various areas. Yonsei Korea published the "SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY APPLICATIONS" book to educate people unaware of synthetic biology-based products. To be specific, they designed a handbook that includes all the various synthetic biology applications in the nature, energy, and manufacturing sectors. Inspired by their approach to spreading awareness, Korea-HS has created its own guidebooks for business owners, manufacturers, researchers, and potential start-up companies. Our guidebook is about how to maximize the safety of synthetic biological food before consumers acquire it and how to ensure an ethical manufacturing method while using advanced synthetic biotechnology. In addition, we proposed food policies in food security organizations such as FAO after a thorough review of the content.

Team Uppsala 2021

Our team has spent time and effort to implement the human practice integrals in every single stage of our blueprint, but we have struggled to do so. So, we analyzed one of the most successful team's websites to gather some ideas, and Team Uppsala gave us the most fascinating motivation, which is to start a SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Our team conducted a SWOT analysis, which highlighted the need for improving the quality of data related to high-quality lab experiments in the field of cultivated meat production. We shared a common goal with Uppsala, focusing on optimizing the growth of bovine muscle cells, commonly referred to as cultivated meat. Uppsala pursued various approaches in the wet lab, using software Q to observe cell mutations, structural stability, and cell culture binding affinity. After a comprehensive review of their work, we decided to concentrate on providing evidence of cell proliferation and binding affinity in cultured cells. Our objective was to enhance the quality, proliferation, and differentiation of the wet lab experiment. To achieve this, we specifically examined cell images captured after 96 hours of incubation under four different cultured media conditions. We documented our findings and provided a reflective analysis with accompanying photos. During an interview with Chef Filippo Abisso and a Harvard food ethics professor, questions arose regarding how we planned to demonstrate the effectiveness of our conditioned media, including evidence of cell differentiation and the proliferation process. Consequently, our integrated qualitative analysis allowed us to present compelling evidence of the impact of Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media on cell proliferation and differentiation, addressing the concerns raised during the interview.

Team MIT 2021

In the context of our participation in the iGEM competition, our team endeavored to incorporate human practice considerations across the various phases of our project. The journey was fraught with difficulties, and in our quest for direction, we extensively examined the tactics employed by the most accomplished teams in the tournament. The methodology adopted by Team MIT 2021 had a major impact on the route we pursued. The primary area of emphasis for MIT was the optimization of the cultivation of bovine muscle cells, and their approaches established a standard of excellence. The researchers demonstrated ingenuity by employing specialized tools, such as software Q, to observe mutations and track the structural integrity of their wet lab operations. The binding affinity of cell cultures was also documented by them. Nevertheless, our research team identified a significant omission in their study: although their approaches were innovative, the empirical support for cell proliferation and binding affinity appeared to be slightly insufficient. Based on this observation as our primary impetus, we strove to enhance the comprehensiveness of our own experimental endeavors, assuring adherence to rigorous techniques and generating tangible data to substantiate our findings. The cells were imaged subsequent to incubation under different media conditions, and our observations were complemented with photographic documentation to enhance the visual representation of our findings. During the presentation of our research, an engaging discussion took place involving Chef Filippo Abisso, an esteemed culinary expert, and a distinguished professor of food ethics from Harvard. This interaction prompted insightful inquiries regarding the effectiveness of our media conditions. The researchers specifically sought empirical evidence of cellular differentiation and proliferation. Building upon the research conducted at MIT and our own supplementary investigations, we presented a comprehensive demonstration of the impact of our Afamin-Wnt3a conditioned media on cellular development. Our team has emphasized the crucial role of effective communication in scientific inquiry. This emphasis is particularly influenced by the groundbreaking works of teams like MIT. This experience has emphasized the value not only of innovation but also of conveying concrete outcomes.

CCU

The exploration undertaken by Team CCU Taiwan 2022 served as a source of inspiration. As we commenced our iGEM endeavor, we were consistently enthusiastic about incorporating human practice integrals into every aspect of our project. Although we faced various challenges, we always found ourselves surrounded by sources of inspiration. A noteworthy proportion of the motivation was derived from the impressive techniques implemented by Team CCU Taiwan 2022. The commitment of CCU Taiwan to the intricacies of their research was clearly apparent. We had great admiration for their inventive approaches, the technologies they employed, and their meticulous documentation. However, our team, consistently aiming for a comprehensive comprehension, identified some domains that could benefit from additional investigation or exposition. Drawing upon the knowledge acquired from our previous experience at CCU Taiwan, we expanded our experimental endeavors to achieve a harmonious equilibrium between innovative approaches and tangible empirical support. Our endeavors resulted in a sequence of tests, wherein we systematically collected visual data following designated incubation durations, investigating various situations to enhance the comprehensiveness of our research. During the presentation of our findings, we engaged in a stimulating discourse with professionals from the industry, who thoroughly examined our techniques and findings. Building upon the basic guidance provided by CCU Taiwan, our research endeavors have enabled us to effectively address and further explore the complex inquiries presented by industry experts. The presence of teams such as CCU Taiwan has greatly enhanced our exploration of the extensive realm of scientific investigation, serving as a guiding light that underscores the crucial equilibrium between creativity and empirical substantiation within the realm of scholarly inquiry.