Repurposing biomedical muscle tissue engineering for cellular agriculture: challenges and opportunities

Cellular agriculture is an emerging field rooted in engineering meat-mimicking cell laden structures using tissue engineering practices that have been developed for biomedical applications, including regenerative medicine. Research and industrial efforts are focused on reducing the cost and improving the throughput of cultivated meat (CM) production using these conventional practices. Due to key differences in the goals of muscle tissue engineering for biomedical versus food applications, conventional strategies may not be economically and technologically viable or socially acceptable. In this review, these two fields are critically compared, and the limitations of biomedical tissue engineering practices in achieving the important requirements of food production are discussed. Additionally, the possible solutions and the most promising biomanufacturing strategies for cellular agriculture are highlighted.

Automated summary

Cellular agriculture is a new field that combines tissue engineering practices from biomedical applications to engineer meat-mimicking cell structures. However, conventional strategies for cultured meat production may not be suitable for achieving the goals of food production due to differences in requirements. This review critically compares the two fields and discusses the limitations of biomedical tissue engineering practices in food production, while also highlighting potential solutions and promising biomanufacturing strategies for cellular agriculture.