ProVeg commends Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir for advocating climate-friendly diets and supporting cultivated meat innovation
Food awareness organisation, ProVeg International, applauds Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister and acting Minister of Food, Fisheries and Agriculture of Iceland, for her leadership and outspoken support for the advancement of cultivated meat technology. Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir’s commitment to embracing innovative solutions to address the challenges of food security and environmental sustainability sets a precedent for global leaders to follow.
On 12 February 2024, Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir made history by attending one of Europe’s largest cultivated meat tasting events. Hosted by leading biotech firm ORF Genetics from Iceland and Vow, an Australian cultivated meat company, the event showcased a range of innovative products. Among them were cultivated Japanese quail and other cultivated delicacies. Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir noted that it was her first experience trying cultivated meats and expressed her enjoyment of the various offerings.
Emphasising the importance of creating sustainable food systems, Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir said, “It is clear that our food systems need to change so that we can feed a population estimated to reach 9 billion in 2040. It is also evident that we need to use innovation and technology to establish new ways of addressing the climate challenge. This is exactly what we are seeing on the tasting tables here today.”1
Cultivated meat, also known as cell-based meat, is produced by cultivating and multiplying animal cells in a controlled environment, rather than raising livestock for human consumption. Cultivated products have the potential to provide high-quality protein while significantly reducing the carbon footprint associated with traditional animal agriculture.2
“As Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir rightly emphasises, it is clear that our food systems need to change to accommodate a growing global population.With this recent show of leadership and clarity, Iceland could be on the way to becoming a leading hub in agri-food innovation where these very needed changes can be ideated and developed with strong support,” Julia Martin, Cellular Agriculture Lead at ProVeg, said.
Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir further stated, “Cultivated meat is one of the solutions to the climate challenge. The Icelandic authorities are determined to pave the way for the adoption of new solutions in Iceland and we are eager to see the development of an EU regulatory framework for cultivated meat.”3
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Notes to Editors
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Footnotes
1 “ORF Genetics and Vow announce success of cell-based meat tasting in Europe”, The Cell Base (13 February 2024).
2 Sinke, P., Swartz, E., Sanctorum, H. et al. Ex-ante life cycle assessment of commercial-scale cultivated meat production in 2030. Int J Life Cycle Assess 28, 234–254 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02128-8
3“ORF Genetics and Vow announce success of cell-based meat tasting in Europe”, The Cell-Base, (13 February 2024).
About ProVeg International
ProVeg International is a food awareness organisation with the mission to replace 50% of animal products globally with plant-based and cultivated foods by 2040. Our vision is a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet.
