What is lab grown meat made of?

By Joshua January 27, 2021

Dogs and cats need a balance of various nutrients to live long, healthy lives. Of those nutrients, protein gets the most hype, and in most cases - particularly with cats as dogs can do well on a plant-based diet - that protein source is meat.

But the fact is, there is more to meat than protein. And that is why Because Animals is creating the world’s first cultured meat for pet food—not only will our cultured meat be a source of protein, but it will also deliver the essential fats, vitamins and minerals that are vital to our pets’ health.

Cultured meat has all of the goodness of conventional meat - it is, in fact, 100% meat. The only difference is that our meat cells grow inside a bioreactor instead of an animal’s body. This differentiator means no harm to other animals or the environment and safer, healthier food for cats and dogs.

In this Q&A with Because Animals’ CEO and co-founder, Shannon Falconer, who has a PhD in microbial chemical biology, she explains the difference between meat and protein and why the two aren't interchangeable.

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Q: So, first of all, what elements make up meat?

Meat is mostly made of water, protein and fat. Nutritionally speaking, meat is a source of amino acids, many B vitamins (such as B2, B3, B6, B12), vitamin K, vitamin A, as well as several essential minerals, including iron, zinc and phosphorus.

Q: And then, what is protein?

Biochemically speaking, protein is a long series of amino acids strung together that form large molecules with different shapes and biological functions. Although there are hundreds of naturally occurring amino acids, only 20 of them are capable of complexing with one another to form a protein. Proteins are unique in that the length, ratio and order of amino acids differ between them. Protein is found in every cell, whether that cell comes from a mammal, insect, plant or bacteria. Protein is essential for all life, no matter how complex or simple the organism might be.

As for its role in nutrition, protein found in food is broken down by the body to form individual amino acids, where those amino acids are then recycled and used as the building blocks to form new protein that the body needs for various biological processes.

Ultimately, it’s the amino acids that make up protein that are nutritionally essential, rather than protein itself.

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Protein is essential for all life, no matter how complex or simple the organism might be.
Joshua Erett, CRO

The essential nutrients that dogs living in the wild obtain from meat are essential amino acids, vitamin D and vitamin B12.

Of course there are many more nutrients that cats and dogs require in order to survive, but the ones listed above are those specifically supplied by meat.

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