Case study on in-vitro meat. WP5 policy report, March/April 2015: summary of findings and policy considerations

The in-vitro meat (IVM) research field remains small with perhaps 50 or so scientists active globally. These scientists are in the Netherlands, the US, the UK, Sweden, Israel and Norway, with some interest expressed in Denmark and by a group of bioreactor engineers in Portugal. The main groups involved in supporting this innovation domain are: New Harvest, a US based pro-IVM campaign group that raises funds through donations for small scale research work, discusses IVM in the media and organises conference panels; the In-Vitro Meat Consortium, established by Dutch and Norwegian scientists in 2008 as a networking device with presence at conferences, although, now with limited activity; the US animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The most high profile laboratories are those of Mark Post at Maastricht University and the New York based private company Modern Meadow, both of which have become relatively financially secure research sites over the last three years. The aim of the Epinet case study was to explore and interact with these epistemic communities / networks that have been developing, implementing, supporting and promoting IVM technologies. The study team consisted of expertise in sociotechnical evaluations, systems and uncertainty analysis, ethics and media studies. The team identified early on a small set of policy considerations around the issues of public funding and the social shaping of IVM. The question of whether or not IVM research should be publicly funded has had to be viewed in relation to how IVM technologies are represented, understood, shaped and reshaped and, accordingly, what sort of IVM activities should be funded. When the case study commenced in 2012, government policy makers had only twice chosen to fund IVM laboratory work, i.e., a section of the Dutch government interested in environmental issues and protein (2005-2009; 2010-2014), and NASA (~2000). In addition to that, the European Science Foundation (ESF) funded a two day blue skies conference in Gothenburg, Sept. 2011. Other funders include PETA, New Harvest, and private donators.