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Elliot Swartz

@elliotswartz.bsky.social

690 followers 200 following 190 posts

Principal Scientist at The Good Food Institute, analyzing progress and how to address challenges for cultivated meat and alternative proteins. Opinions my own. https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cultivated-meat/

gfi.org

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Nov 14

I started an initial list of folks who track the development of the alternative protein industry or how it relates to environment, public health, or sociopolitical landscape.

Share or request to be added!

go.bsky.app/HiCyjqW

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 21h

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Cell growth modeling review for cultivated meat production: Recommendations to improve techno-economic models. After registering, you will receive a confirm...

Scaling cultivated meat cost-effectively requires predictive tools that can guide performance at unprecedented production volumes. In this webinar, GFI and BioFarm Designs will present findings from a...

zoom.us

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 21h

📈Join us for a webinar overview on Nov 4 of our new report on cell growth modeling for #cultivatedmeat📈

If you're interested in computational modeling or working in a lab & want to know how to design experiments to be more commercially-relevant and impactful, please attend!

Registration below.

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 2d

Fixing the food system addresses the root cause of many of the world's largest problems. An interview with GFI's new CEO:

news.mongabay.com/2025/10/prot...

Protein for a crowded planet: An interview with the Good Food Institute’s Nigel Sizer

For more than three decades Nigel Sizer has orbited the front lines of environmental policy. His résumé spans forest conservation in Amazonia, the launch of Global Forest Watch at the World Resources ...

news.mongabay.com

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 10d

More here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a_2...

Michael Grunwald - Fixing Agriculture’s Climate Impact in "We Are Eating the Earth” | The Daily Show

YouTube video by The Daily Show

www.youtube.com

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 10d

Finished @mikegrunwald.bsky.social's book, which shows the urgency to develop solutions to address agriculture's climate problem

It highlights the overlooked concept of carbon opportunity costs of land use & isn't afraid to say that grass-fed beef is a climate disaster. Recommended read!

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 15d

Join us on Thursday to chat about process analytics and scale-up:

gfi.org/event/master...

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 22d

Aleph Farms partners with the Cultured Hub, a shared co-manufacturing facility, to produce cultivated beef in Switzerland.

The company filed for regulatory approval in the region over two years ago.

www.greenqueen.com.hk/aleph-farms-...

Aleph Farms Eyes Europe with Cultivated Beef Facility in Switzerland

Israeli food tech startup Aleph Farms has struck a deal to produce its cultivated meat in Europe, setting up at The Cultured Hub facility in Kemptthal.

www.greenqueen.com.hk

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 23d

Iceland's ORF Genetics raises €5M to scale up their platform to produce low-cost growth factors in barley.

Their products are already used in commercial cultivated meat processes.

agfundernews.com/orf-genetics...

ORF Genetics scales growth factor production for cultivated meat: ‘The question is not if this market will grow, but when'

ORF Genetics—a molecular farming company pioneering the production of growth factors in barley—has raised €5m ($5.9m) to scale production.

agfundernews.com

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · 27d

Congrats to MissionBarns for making the first ever sale of cultivated pork. They are the 6th company to have sold cultivated meat around the world. Here's the current breakdown:

Coverage here: www.greenqueen.com.hk/exclusive-mi...

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Sep 9

UK startup Cellular Agriculture aims to open new pilot facility in early 2026, with claims to have developed the world's longest hollow fiber bioreactor

Follows news of EdiMembre, a spinout from Merck, which has developed an edible hollow fiber reactor

cultivated-x.com/company-news...

Cellular Agriculture Ltd Strengthens Industry Position with New Facility and Breakthrough Bioreactor Systems - Cultivated X

UK-based Cellular Agriculture Ltd has announced a series of developments that advance its position as a technology provider for the cultivated food sector.

cultivated-x.com

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Sep 5

I believe the concept involves more of a collective effort for all the supply chain elements. Not everything could or would be done on-site.

IDK, the Dutch seem to be pretty good at making food lol. Lots of concepts being tested throughout the industry. Gotta figure out what works/is possible.

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Sep 5

The video on their website has a bit more for what is envisioned

It does assume that CM processes can be "tech transferred" in a way that is very low friction. And that we can readily use feedstocks grown on typical farms

Those assumptions can certainly be debated

www.respectfarms.com

RespectFarms enables cultivated meat farming

RespectFarms enables farmers and food producers to diversify their businesses to share in the promise of cultivated meat.

www.respectfarms.com

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Sep 5

€2M awarded to a collaborative project to develop the world's first cultivated meat farm in the Netherlands, with the aim of helping farmers diversify their business

Encouraging to see conventional and cultivated meat companies working together:

t.co/a4yJl7FcJg

https://vegconomist.com/cultivated-cell-cultured-biotechnology/cultivated-meat/consortium-cultivated-meat-farm-netherlands/

t.co

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 31

The Alt Protein Project, a collection of student groups, now has 76 active chapters at top Universities around the world

We recently added 13 more groups from the US, Canada, India, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, and the UK:

gfi.org/blog/the-alt...

The Alt Protein Project keeps growing—and so does its impact - The Good Food Institute

Thirteen new university groups join GFI’s Alt Protein Project, a global community of student leaders reimagining our food system.

gfi.org

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 27

Cultivated meatballs, bacon, and salami made without animal slaughter will soon be sold in U.S. grocery stores for the first time (one Sprouts market in Oakland).

The pig that donated the cells is still alive, living happily in upstate NY:

sf.gazetteer.co/some-pig

Some pig

San Francisco companies are creating cell-cultivated meats. Is this the future of nutrition for a hungry planet, or another Impossible dream?

sf.gazetteer.co

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 25

Dutch startup @meatable.bsky.social acquires cell lines and IP for non-GM differentiation strategies from UncommonBio, which has since pivoted away from #cultivatedmeat and into medicine:

agfundernews.com/meatable-acq...

Meatable acquires Uncommon Bio’s cultivated meat platform as latter pivots to therapeutics

Meatable has acquired the cultivated meat platform of UK-based Uncommon Bio, including key tech, IP assets, select cell lines, and key staff.

agfundernews.com

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 19

Excited to see @merckgroup's edible hollow fiber bioreactor project (EdiMembre) out in the real world after 5 yrs of internal development

The fiber-based bioreactors, made from legume proteins, can create cost-effective, structured #cultivatedmeat:

www.greenqueen.com.hk/merck-millip...

Merck Spinout Banks on Edible Membrane Tech for Lab-Grown Whole-Cut Meat

EdiMembre has spun off from Merck Group to commercialise its edible membrane tech for future foods, starting with whole-cut cultivated meat and high-protein pasta.

www.greenqueen.com.hk

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 18

India opens new stem cell biobank to aid in development of its current and future agricultural sector, with cell line banking for cultivated meat as a key focus

www.greenqueen.com.hk/india-animal...

India Opens First Animal Stem Cell Biobank, With Cultivated Meat A Key Focus

India's cultivated meat industry just got a big boost, with a first-of-a-kind animal stem cell biobank listing proteins as a key priority.

www.greenqueen.com.hk

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 5

Canadian startup Opalia scores deal with Dutch dairy company Hoogwegt to supply cultivated milk.

It is one of just a handful of global companies using bovine mammary cells to produce whole milk without the cow:

www.greenqueen.com.hk/opalia-lab-g...

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 4

2025 is the first year that cultivated meat will be permanently on restaurant menus in the U.S.

By the end of August, a handful of restaurants in Oregon, California, Washington, and Texas will be serving cultivated meat/seafood.

Go give it a try!

www.greenqueen.com.hk/wildtype-sal...

Weeks After FDA Approval, Wildtype Expands Cultivated Salmon Across US Restaurants

Californian food tech startup Wildtype is taking its cultivated salmon to restaurants across the US, showcasing its potential with award-winning chefs.

www.greenqueen.com.hk

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Aug 1

Czech startup Mewery secures a €2.5M grant from the EIC accelerator program

The company takes a unique approach to manufacturing by co-culturing porcine cells with microalgae

Nice to see some startups getting non-dilutive funding to keep R&D going

www.proteinreport.org/newswire/mew...

Mewery Strengthens Global Ambitions, Secures €3 Million for Development Toward Industrial Testing

Mewery, a leader in the development of cultivated meat based on microalgae and animal cells, has recently secured EUR 2.5 million from the EIC Accelerator program. The grant was funded by the Technolo...

www.proteinreport.org

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Jul 31

The #cultivatedmeat sector raised a whopping $0 in Q2 2025

With valuations down, positive movement in regulatory approvals, & underlying scientific advancements, it's probably never been a better time to invest

Something something be greedy when others are fearful

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Jul 30

Singapore approves cultivated pet food from Friends & Family Pet Food Co.

The first product (freeze-dried treats) will contain 65-70% cultivated animal cells. It will be the 2nd cultivated pet food product to be sold globally.

www.greenqueen.com.hk/friends-and-...

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Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Jul 26

With multiple products now being sold in Singapore, Australia, & the U.S., w/ more to come, I decided it's time to start tracking the overall production volume for products destined for consumers

Draft figure to be refined with more accurate volume data as we get better numbers

Elliot Swartz @elliotswartz.bsky.social · Jul 20

btw, the note that "some research into other types of cultivated meat has found emissions could be higher than farm-raised counterparts" is based on a bogus study:

gfi.org/wp-content/u...

gfi.org