Team:Uppsala/Sustainable
Development goals we tried to tackle
Our project contributes to numerous sustainable development goals of the UN.
Climate Action
Current farming activities are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with the largest methane contribution coming from the digestion of plant material by cows [1]. Cellular agriculture undercuts this problem as no plant material needs to be digested in order to be metabolised by the cell. Cellular agriculture can cut emissions associated with farming by up to 90% by 2035 according to the think tank Rethinkx [2].
Life on land
Large amounts of land are needed for cattle to roam and feed, with over 71% of EU land being dedicated to feeding large herds of cattle [3]. Cellular agriculture has the ability to slash this figure by 95%, freeing up more land for an expanding population or allowing nature to reclaim large areas of land [4] . In addition, some habitats which were lost to bovine farming such as forests or wetlands can be reclaimed as the need for bovine related farming practices decrease.
Responsible consumption and production
The earth's resources are being consumed faster than they can be replenished. The need for sustainable systems is greater than ever, especially if we are to feed the growing population of our planet. Furthermore, the effects of climate change are putting more pressure on these resources. Cellular agriculture has the potential to be far more resource efficient than current cattle farming, and will also use far less antibiotics than traditional farming [5].
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
One major bottleneck for cellular agriculture today is the high cost of production of FGF2, as it is a critical component of growth media used to grow cells. Our project aims to lower the cost of production through producing more efficient variants and also proving that these can at least be upscaled to 5L in bioreactors.
Other UN goals our project relates to
Zero hunger
Cellular agriculture has the potential to sustainably feed the growing global population.
Sustainable cities and communities
Cellular agriculture can be domestically produced almost anywhere, allowing communities to be less dependent on imported food. This can be especially useful in light of a pandemic when borders were closed.
Clean water and sanitation
Countries around the globe are facing alarming water shortages, and cattle farming is very water intensive. Traditional beef farming uses a staggering 15,000 L or more of water for 1kg of beef [6]. Cellular agriculture can slash this figure by 96% and significantly reduce contamination through pesticides, fertilizers and pathogens [7].
Life below water
The closely related cellular aquaculture has the potential to reduce the overfishing of our oceans, as FGF2 is also found in fish.
Conclusion
Our team worked hard to ensure that we were well informed with real world consequences of our project and how a thriving cellular agriculture would affect various stakeholders. These stakeholders ranged from farmers and companies currently working in cellular agriculture. We did this in order to get a more real world view of how our project would address the sustainable development goals. We conducted a farmers survey to evaluate the views farmers had on cellular agriculture and their concerns. We also arranged interviews and tried to get a better understanding of some of the consequences of a future with less cattle farming and how this related to the UN goal Life on Land.
We discovered that cattle grazing provides a major ecosystem service to grassland habitats and reducing the number of cattle could have serious consequences on large grassland ecosystems. Primarily due to the fact that cattle grazing keeps large grasslands healthy and diverse by stopping certain species from dominating these habitats, as most grassland ecosystems are adapted to intense grazing through megaherbivores [8]. Furthermore, cows prevent re-forestation of large swaths of land and are consequently important in preventing reforestation where it is not wanted.
Furthermore, we arranged interviews with experts working in cellular agriculture to evaluate the impacts of improving FGF2. These interviews confirmed how beneficial a more efficient FGF2 would be to Industry and innovation.
There are many studies which address how cellular agriculture has the potential to combat the effects of climate change. The Webinar we hosted gathered experts from diverse backgrounds to speak on how synthetic biology can improve the current agricultural system and spoke on how it can be used for Climate action.
References
[1] Gerber, P.J., Steinfeld, H., Henderson, B., Mottet, A., Opio, C., Dijkman, J., Falcucci, A. & Tempio, G. 2013. Tackling climate change through livestock – A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome.
[2] Rethinkx. Food and agriculture. Rethinkx (visited 12/09/21) https://www.rethinkx.com/food-and-agriculture.
[3] Eurostat. Archive:Small and large farms in the EU – statistics from the farm structure survey, data from October 2016. Available here.
[4] Tuomisto, H. L. & M. J. Teixeira de Mattos (2011): Environmental Impacts of Cultured Meat Production. Environmental Science & Technology 45(14), 6117–6123. doi:10.1021/es200130u.
[5] Specht, E. A., Welch, D. R., Rees Clayton, E. M., and Lagally, C. D. (2018). Opportunities for applying biomedical production and manufacturing methods to the development of the clean meat industry. Biochem. Eng. J. 132, 161–168. doi: 10.1016/j.bej.2018.01.015.
[6] P.W. Gerbens-Leenes, M.M. Mekonnen, A.Y. Hoekstra,
The water footprint of poultry, pork and beef: A comparative study in different countries and production systems,
Water Resources and Industry, Volumes 1–2, 2013, Pages 25-36, ISSN 2212-3717.
Available here.
[7] Tuomisto, H. L. & M. J. Teixeira de Mattos (2011): Environmental Impacts of Cultured Meat Production. Environmental Science & Technology 45(14), 6117–6123. doi:10.1021/es200130u.
[8] Witman, S. (2018), Critical role of grazing animals in an ecosystem, Eos, 99. Published on 30 January 2018. Read here.
