The government is allocating 60 million euros to stimulate the development of cultured meat and dairy. The investment goes to a consortium that includes cultured meat producer Mosa Meat and the University of Maastricht. The money comes from the 20 billion euro National Growth Fund.
With this, the government fully adopts the advice of the independent advisory committee chaired by former minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem. This was announced by Minister Adriaansens of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and Minister Kaag of Finance.
The National Growth Fund was launched in 2020 to strengthen the sustainable earning capacity of the Netherlands. The promised 60 million euros for research and promotion of cultured meat is less than the consortium had hoped for: the application was for 382 million euros.
Mark Post of the University of Maastricht presented the first cultured hamburger in 2013. The meat for this hamburger was grown in a laboratory based on a few muscle cells from a cow.
Over the past nine years, Mosa Meat has invested in further development and improvement of cultured meat. Last week, during the King’s Day festivities in Maastricht, he gave a brief explanation to King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.
Recently, the House of Representatives adopted a motion from D66 and VVD to make tastings with cultured meat possible. During the royal visit to Maastricht, this was not yet the case.
The Dutch government says that with this financial support, it aims to make cultured meat cell agriculture the norm. Although this method requires taking cells from animals, it can be done completely slaughter-free.
Mosa Meat can, for example, make 80 beef burgers from just one cow cell sample. According to the company, the result is “indistinguishable” from conventionally produced hamburgers.