Reading The CellAg Regulatory Tea Leaves

The global cultivated meat regulatory landscape is changing, and dramatically so. Since Trump became the US President, the US regulatory pathway for CellAg companies is looking a lot less certain.

As a cultivated meat CEO, the issue of where to file for regulatory approval is dictated by a multitude of factors. For ambitious, well-funded startups, the US and Singapore made the most sense until now - as of today, they remain the only two markets in the world where cultivated meat of any form was approved for sale. For most US companies, there was no need to go elsewhere. With both the FDA and the USDA seemingly onside, why waste resources on other markets? After all, if they got approval, what better market was there to launch cultivated meat?

There are three big negative signals for the US CellAg regulatory landscape:

1. HHS Secretary Kennedy's self-affirmed GRAS attack, which we covered in last week's note;

2. President Trump is walking back executive orders left and right including “Executive Order 14081 of September 12, 2022 (Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy)”, and folks are worried that the existing two (Upside Foods and GOOD Meat) cultivated meat approvals and the newly issued FDA letter for Mission Barns are next on the slicing docket;

3. Republican states continue to enact cultivated meat bans, which makes point 2 even more likely- the 'lab-grown meat is un-American’ messaging works well as a way to fire up voters and reinforce Trump's underlying policy credo. The narrative, which taps into reductive identity politics, has long-term staying power, continuing to take up space in media headlines, on Republican agendas and with Trump's Cabinet members. So far, US Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins hasn't waded into the debate loudly, but if (when) she does, I'd put money on the fact that it won't be to the industry's liking.

America's loss is the rest of the world's gain: some US companies are looking to the UK's regulatory sandbox while many others are eyeing up Singapore (which Australian, UK and EU startups have been doing all along). Meanwhile, South Korea is making moves with a $10M research centre, not long after China announced a $11M one.

How's the industry reacting to the above? They are either ignoring the drama or getting ready to file elsewhere. Here's what I am hearing, mostly via off-the-record WhatsApp messages:

• At least two US cultivated meat companies are now switching gears and actively pursuing regulatory approval in Singapore; we know of one that is setting up meetings there next month and another that is having preliminary talks with other startup founders who have already applied there to get advice and intel.

• Industry insiders, particularly those working in Public Affairs, are deeply concerned. One wrote to me that cultivated meat in the US is as good as dead for the next four years.

• Others are striking a different tone; a senior exec from another US cultivated meat company told me they remained cautiously optimistic.

• More than one person who attended Future Food Tech in SF last week spoke to me about this split- where half the room was feeling very positive in their outlook, while the other half was panicking.

-Sonalie

💡 Green Queen Exclusives

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🇪🇺 Op-Ed: Why The EU Must Prioritise Protein Diversification
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✅ Must-Read Headlines

🇰🇷 South Korea’s Uiseong County has won its bid to build the country’s first cultivated meat research centre, supported by $10 million in government funding.
💡GFI identified South Korea as one of the places to watch for regulatory progress in this field in 2025, and the country’s latest efforts highlight its goal of becoming a food tech hub.

🍄 The Better Meat Co has signed a letter of intent with one of South America’s largest meat companies for the use of its mycoprotein in blended meat applications, just as it starts a new $15 million fundraising round.
💡This is The Better Meat Co’s largest LOI signed to date, adding to four other agreements from major meat producers in North America and Asia, which together are projected to rake $13 million in annual revenue for the company.

🇨🇱 Always at the forefront of food trends, Chilean food tech startup NotCo unveiled a GLP-1 Booster that uses food as a natural Ozempic alternative.
💡NotCo has been diversifying from its CPG focus to offer AI technologies to businesses all over the world, and is now targeting the GLP-1 boom.

📚 Key Research

📈 Fermentation tech could account for 4% of global protein production by 2050, but it needs $250 billion of investment to meet the capacity needs, according to McKinsey.

🌱 New research from Nectar shows that meat-eaters find most plant-based alternatives inferior to animal protein in taste and texture, but there are some industry-leading products that show how to bridge the gap.

👎🏼 The exacerbating effects of climate change could wreak havoc on human gut health, especially in middle- and low-income countries, according to a new study by Michigan State University.

🧫 Everything Else In Future Food

🥩 Slovenian whole-cut meat analogue maker Juicy Marbles released Pork-ish, the second product in its Meaty Meat lineup and its cheapest offering ever, which boasts a Nutri-Score A rating and high protein and fibre content.

🍔 McDonald’s Canada is trialling the McVeggie, featuring a patty that ditches plant-based meat for vegetables, in the hope that a vegetable-forward burger will capture consumers who don’t eat meat or are looking to cut back.

🍫 Finnish food giant Fazer has teased a snack bar and two protein oat milk beverages made using Solar Foods’ fermentation-derived Solein protein.

🏷️ After launching C-Label, Swiss organisation V-Label has released a new certification mark for fermentation-derived proteins in a bid to address confusion about vegan-friendly labels on these products.

🇨🇦 Canadian plant-based restaurant chain Odd Burger has detailed its US expansion strategy to tackle the impact of the ongoing trade war between the neighbours.

🌱🍔  Future Food Quick Bites 

In our weekly column, Future Food Quick Bites, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Benexia’s new chia seed milk, Violife’s campaign with Chrishell Stause, and Holy Carrot’s upcoming restaurant in London.

📆 Scene & Heard

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🇺🇸 Green Queen’s Founding Editor, Sonalie Figueiras, is excited to speak at SynBioBeta 2025—where synbiology’s future takes shape! Join her on May 5th–8th in San Jose, CA, to meet pioneers, explore innovative breakthroughs, and discuss biotech’s next chapter. Register here and use code SBB25-Future for $100 off.

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🌍 Bridge2Food Europe 2025, taking place June 3rd-5th, will welcome industry experts, including senior R&D, Technical, and Innovation leaders, at an event designed to maximise your networking opportunities, idea exchange, and partnership potential. Get your ticket here.

🇭🇰 Don’t miss Unlocking Capital for Sustainability 2025 – Hong Kong on 27th-28th March. The two-day event will discuss pressing sustainable finance developments in the region, and cover a number of important trends, including technology and AI, circularity, sustainable investing, and nature finance, all under the theme “Mobilising capital for the green transition.” Get your ticket here, and use our code EBUCFSHK50 for 50% off.