Cellular agriculture is emerging as a new approach to the production of food ingredients, offering an alternative to conventional agricultural practices. This Comment highlights critical sustainability considerations and examines the energy efficiency of biotechnologically produced cellular crops.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Schramski, J. R., Woodson, C. B. & Brown, J. H. Energy use and the sustainability of intensifying food production. Nat. Sustain. 3, 257–259 (2020).
Searchinger, T., Waite, R., Hanson, C., Ranganathan, J. & Matthews, E. Creating a sustainable food future: a menu of solutions to feed nearly 10 billion people by 2050-synthesis report. World Resources Institute https://go.nature.com/43g6SzN (19 July 2019).
El Wali, M., Rahimpour Golroudbary, S., Kraslawski, A. & Tuomisto, H. L. Transition to cellular agriculture reduces agriculture land use and greenhouse gas emissions but increases demand for critical materials. Commun. Earth Environ. 5, 61 (2024).
Steinwand, M. A. & Ronald, P. C. Crop biotechnology and the future of food. Nat. Food 1, 273–283 (2020).
Yart, L. et al. Cellular agriculture for milk bioactive production. Nat. Rev. Bioeng. 1, 858–874 (2023).
Lark, T. J. et al. Environmental outcomes of the US renewable fuel standard. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 119, e2101084119 (2022).
Sinke, P., Swartz, E., Sanctorum, H., Van Der Giesen, C. & Odegard, I. Ex-ante life cycle assessment of commercial-scale cultivated meat production in 2030. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 28, 234–254 (2023).
Tuomisto, H. L. Challenges of assessing the environmental sustainability of cellular agriculture. Nat. Food 3, 801–803 (2022).
Mattick, C. S., Landis, A. E., Allenby, B. R. & Genovese, N. J. Anticipatory life cycle analysis of in vitro biomass cultivation for cultured meat production in the United States. Environ. Sci. Technol. 49, 11941–11949 (2015).
Pelton, R. E. et al. Greenhouse gas emissions in US beef production can be reduced by up to 30% with the adoption of selected mitigation measures. Nat. Food 5, 787–797 (2024).
Howard, P. H. Cellular agriculture will reinforce power asymmetries in food systems. Nat. Food 3, 798–800 (2022).
Broad, G. M. & Chiles, R. M. Thick and thin food justice approaches in the evaluation of cellular agriculture. Nat. Food 3, 795–797 (2022).
Willett, W. et al. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Lancet 393, 447–492 (2019).
Tuomisto, H. L. & Teixeira de Mattos, M. J. Environmental impacts of cultured meat production. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45, 6117–6123 (2011).
Crippa, M. et al. Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Nat. Food 2, 198–209 (2021).
Acknowledgements
M.G. acknowledges Deakin University for its financial support through the Alfred Deakin Research Fellowship, which enabled the completion of this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
M.G. conceptualized the study, coordinated the team, and wrote the first draft of the paper. M.D., J.C., A.F., C.J.B., M.Z., D.J.M. and B.A. contributed to writing and improving different sections of the paper. All authors contributed notably to the final version of the paper.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ghasemlou, M., Dokouhaki, M., Chandrapala, J. et al. Sustainability and energy consumption of farm-free cellular agriculture. Nat Rev Bioeng (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00385-4
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00385-4