1. Introduction
There is a critical and immediate need for alternatives to conventional meat and seafood due to the many environmental issues and externalities associated with animal protein production [1]. One alternative that could offer sustainable production is the nascent field of cultivated meat [2]. The field advances technologies culturing animal cells for human consumption in a medium that contains nutrients and energy sources required to support cell growth [3]. Though still pre commercial, cultivated meat has attracted millions of dollars in investment [4]. While diverse process designs are under development, approaches are generally composed of four steps.
The first necessary step in cultivated meat production is selecting and sourcing a starter cell, typically via a non-lethal biopsy. Starter cell types range from embryonic stem cells to differentiated muscle cells, although few companies are starting off with fully differentiated muscle cells [5].
In the second step, the selected starter cell goes through an expansion bioprocess consisting of many rounds of division in a bioreactor. A medium composed of amino acids, vitamins, inorganic salts, lipids and growth factors [5] fuels the bioprocess until the desired mass of cells has been produced.
The third step differentiates the proliferated starter cells into muscle cells, fat cells, or connective tissues. A media formulation containing morphogens drives this differentiation by dictating specific cell lineages.
Finally, when skeletal tissue is desired, the fourth step structures the differentiated cells by seeding them into a scaffold, which facilitates proper assembly, development and, ideally, hypertrophy [5].
Ambitious timelines for cultivated meat product release have suggested commercialization is only 5-10 years away [6], while other complementary and reputable reports predict cultivated meat growth will not eclipse plant-based alternative market share until 2030 [7]. Given the possible extended time horizon before longer term commercial cultivated meat success and the immediate need to realize associated sustainability goals, any tools or techniques that can expedite roll-out would be of considerable value. Computer modeling is one such powerful tool that has numerous applications in cultivated meat process and product development.