The climate impact and land use of cultivated meat: Evaluating agricultural feedstock production

Future research could build upon the findings of this study by examining the environmen- tal impacts of CM in a more comprehensive and holistic manner, such as by incorporating a range of sustainability metrics beyond land use and energy consumption. To examine CMs full sustainability impacts this will be crucial. This could include additional factors, such as water use, biodiversity impacts, and further potential for carbon sequestration. Given the constraints discussed above regarding information on extraction efficiencies, research is needed to provide more precise estimates of nutrient extraction efficiencies. This would enhance the accuracy and relevance of the model and therefore the results. Taken together, these research directions would contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the potential of CM as a sustainable alternative to conventional meat production and pro- vide valuable insights for policy makers, industry stakeholders, and consumers alike. 6. Conclusions This study evaluates the potential role of agriculture to produce the feedstock for CM produc- tion. Using a linear programming model, we investigated different scenarios of CM produc- tion based on agricultural feedstock in southern Germany, considering crop rotation restrictions and energy requirements, particularly the integration of solar energy. Our findings indicate that CM production using crops as raw materials for cell media does not offer significant land use efficiency improvements over conventional pork production.

Scenarios with maximum nutrient extraction from crops showed only minor land use benefits, while scenarios relying on specific crops for glucose and amino acids were less efficient. Addi- tionally, the higher energy demands of CM production, especially when integrating solar energy, translate into further land requirements, thus not significantly advancing climate change mitigation. This study suggests that agriculture’s role in directly providing protein feedstock for CM production should be small to ensure sustainability of CM. Policymakers and industry stake- holders should focus on exploring advanced biotechnological methods i.e. precision fermenta- tion for cell media production to maximize the efficiency of CM. Further research should investigate systems where protein sources are based on precision fermentation rather than directly from crops. Author Contributions Conceptualization: Peter Breunig. Data curation: Hanno Kossmann, Thorsten Moess. Formal analysis: Hanno Kossmann, Thorsten Moess. Methodology: Hanno Kossmann. Visualization: Hanno Kossmann. Writing – original draft: Hanno Kossmann. Writing – review & editing: Hanno Kossmann, Peter Breunig. References 1. Larsen CS. Animal source foods and human health during evolution. J Nutr. 2003; 133(11):3893S– 3897S. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.11.3893S PMID: 14672287 2. Murimi M. What is the place of beef in a healthful sustainable Homo sapiens diet? Am J Health Promot. 2022; 36(5):898–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171221088661c PMID: 35531995 PLOS ONE Evaluating agricultural feedstock for cultivated meat

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