Meat, cheese, cocoa and seafood: improving the framework conditions for sustainable, biotechnologically produced alternatives

(Berlin – 6 July 2023) Yesterday, the Netherlands became the first EU country to allow tastings of biotechnologically cultivated meat and seafood. This is a major step towards realising the potential of these novel foods, as biotechnology can be used to produce delicious alternatives to traditional foods. Such alternatives, also called novel foods, tend to be produced in much more sustainable ways and can help reduce factory farming. Novel foods can therefore play an important role in combating climate change and biodiversity loss. As the trade association for the German biotech industry, BIO Deutschland is advocating that the framework conditions for the development, production, tasting and market approval of these novel foods in the EU and Germany be significantly improved, and has today published a position paper on these issues. (https://www.biodeutschland.org/en/position-papers/position-paper-of-bio-deutschland-biotech-alternatives-to-meat-seafood-egg-and-dairy-products.html)

Oliver Schacht, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, said: “Biotechnologically produced chicken meat has already been approved for consumption and sale in Asia and the USA, although it’s still a niche product. In Europe, however, it’s not even clear how to go about submitting a successful application for approval in Brussels. Our companies have to figure this out by trial and error. Something urgently needs to change here. In addition, it’s currently not legally possible to hold tastings of such novel foods in the EU. Only the Netherlands has now managed to obtain an exemption to this regulation. We in Germany should urgently follow this example.”

Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland, added: “Alternatives to foods derived from live animals, like meat, seafood and cheese, or to foods that cannot be grown sustainably, like cocoa, can be produced in the future with the help of biotechnology. The increased sustainability stems from, among other factors, lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced use of fertilizers, and less land use and water consumption. We therefore urgently need to promote and support the development and regulatory approval of such novel foods. We cannot lower our livestock numbers solely by abstaining from conventional meat consumption. We need to offer healthy, delicious and sustainable products alongside plant-based alternatives that appeal to the tastes of those who don’t want to completely and permanently change their eating habits.”

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The position paper “Biotech alternatives to meat, seafood, egg and dairy products” can be found at:
https://www.biodeutschland.org/en/position-papers/position-paper-of-bio-deutschland-biotech-alternatives-to-meat-seafood-egg-and-dairy-products.html

About BIO Deutschland:

BIO Deutschland e. V., with more than 380 members – companies, BioRegions and industry service providers – and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, aims to support and promote the development of an innovative economic sector in Germany based on modern life sciences. Oliver Schacht, Ph. D., is chairman of the board of BIO Deutschland.

For more information, visit: www.biodeutschland.org

Supporting members of BIO Deutschland and industry partners are:

AGC Biologics, Avia, Baker Tilly, Bayer, BioSpring, Boehringer Ingelheim, Centogene, Citeline, CMS Hasche Sigle, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Evotec, KPMG, Lonza, Miltenyi Biotec, MorphoSys, Novartis, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, QIAGEN, Rentschler Biopharma, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi Aventis Deutschland, SAP, Schmidt Versicherungs Treuhand, Simmons & Simmons, Springer Nature, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Vibalogics and ZETA.

Contact:

BIO Deutschland e. V.
Dr Claudia Englbrecht
Schützenstraße 6a
10117 Berlin, Germany
Tel.: +49 30 2332 164-32
Email: englbrecht@biodeutschland.org

Publication free of charge – specimen copy requested.