Vow Foods created Kangaroo meat dumplings last year (Photo: Adobe. Do not use without permission)
Australian company Vow Food has announced plans to create cell-based meat from ‘exotic’ animals such as Kangaroo, Lion, Tortoise, and Yak.
The startup’s first creation was cultured Kangaroo meat dumplings which launched back in April 2019. It takes approximately six weeks for Vow to grow the cells into ‘the highest quality meat’.
Whilst cultured meat is slaughter-free, it is not by definition vegan as it currently uses cells from animals. Some scientists also use a bovine growth serum – though there are companies working on making the tech animal-free.
However, some vegans support clean meat because of its potential to dramatically reduce the number of animals slaughtered.
A ‘unique culinary experience’
According to FoodNavigator, Co-founder and Chief Commerical Officer at Vow Foods Tim Noakesmith said: “There have been various historical reports of how delicious the meat of the Galapagos tortoise, or the rich fat of the dugong – but if we tried to turn these animals into food, the likelihood is that we would decimate their populations.”
Noakesmith added that its products will create a ‘new category of food’ that offers a ‘unique culinary experience’ that will appeal to ‘different consumer groups’.
Cultured meat
According to a report by global consultancy AT Kearney, 35 percent of meat will be lab-cultured and 25 percent will be vegan alternatives by 2040.
“With the advantages of novel vegan meat replacements and cultured meat over conventionally produced meat, it is only a matter of time before they capture a substantial market share,” the report states.
