FAs

Find answers to your meaty questions

What is Ivy Farm?

We are an innovative sustainable Food Tech company that uses bioengineering technology to make cultivated meat. Cultivated meat is real meat only it is better for the planet, people and animals.

We love meat but feel guilty eating it because of the impact it has. That’s why our mission is to make the best guiltfree, real meat.

You can read our full story here.

What is cultivated meat?

Cultivated meat is meat created from animal cells using biotechnology. It’s the real deal, just better for people, the planet and animals.

We like to think of our process as cultivation. Just as you’d take a cutting from a plant and nurture it in soil so it can grow, so we do a similar thing with animal cells. We take a small sample of animal cells, transport these cells to a nutrient-rich environment, and simply let them multiply. Until there are enough to make lean, delicious mince meat.

Click here to find out more about our process.

Why do we need cultivated meat?

Put simply: we are eating our planet to death to feed our hunger for meat. Currently, animal agriculture accounts for a whopping 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions and, if that’s not enough to put you off your sausage sandwich, the world’s population is growing. We need to change how we source meat in order to keep up with demand and keep the negative impacts of meat production to a minimum.

The UK was one of the first countries in the world to pass animal welfare laws, and the Action Plan for Animal Welfare announced by the government in May shows how serious the government is about protecting the welfare of animals – be they pets or livestock.

Find out more about the environmental impact of meat here.

Is cultivated meat good for me?

Because we simply let cells do their thing, we know exactly what’s in our meat and where it came from. There’s no risk of salmonella, e-coli or other food-based pathogens popping up on your plate.

We don’t use antibiotics in our process. Antibiotics are often used in rearing livestock. This contributes to a rise in antibiotic resistance, and therefore in super bugs like MRSA. We believe food should be food and medication should be medication.

What does cultivated meat actually taste like?

This one’s easy: it tastes like meat because it is meat. Our co-founder Russ is the perfect taste tester too, as he hails from a family of butchers. We make meat for people who love everything about it – the taste, the texture, the aroma – except how it arrived on their dinner table.

All this good news is making me hungry! Where can I buy Ivy Farm products?

Hold that thought. The cultivated meat industry is still very new. So new in fact, you can’t buy cultivated meat at the supermarket just yet. Why not connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter and you’ll be the first to know!