DAVIS, Calif. — University of California Davis will hold an Innovation Day event on Wednesday celebrating its new Integrative Center for Alternative Meat and Protein.
UC Davis' iCAMP comes as the demand for both meat and meat alternatives rises globally. According to Chemical Engineering professor and iCAMP Director David Block, the demand for meat may raise anywhere from 50 to 100 percent in the next quarter century.
An event to kick off the center is scheduled for the school's Robert Mondavi Center for Wine and Food Science at 9 a.m.
"Expansion of conventional animal agriculture is unlikely to be able to meet demand at a reasonable price," said Block in a statement released by the school. "We have to come up with alternatives and create additional sustainable food sources."
While aiming to fulfill demand, UC Davis also intends to help expand the consumer market for meat substitutes. According to an article released in UC Davis' annual newsletter, the school plans to research the challenges that alternative meat faces in the public eye. Some of these challenges include taste, cost, and shelf life.
According to Grand View Research, a research and marketing firm established in 2002, the meat substitute market "is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.4% from 2024 to 2030." This is in part due to fast food giants, such as Burger King and KFC, as well as national retail chains, such as Walmart.
Aside from studying public and economical factors relating to alternative meats, UC Davis will use the center to research ways to "grow" meat substitutes using both cells and synthetic methods. According to the iCAMP Innovation Day launch event agenda, there is potential for using adult stem cells, pluripotent stem cells, and microfluidic-based 3D printing to cultivate meat in the future.
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