Malaysia is launching its first lab-grown meat facility. Could it help reduce agricultural emissions?

SINGAPORE: Malaysia is poised to start producing its own lab-grown meat in the next two years, a move that could potentially help in the urgent fight against climate change.

Majority of these emissions come from feed production and gas released during animal digestion, for instance, when cows burp and expel methane. Methane is reported to be more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. It is a stringent certification process that Mr Ng believes will make his cultivated meat even safer for consumption than conventional meat, especially as his products - unlike livestock - would not have been injected with antibiotics.

“We have good sunlight in Malaysia, so we will use solar energy to power our bioreactors. We cannot say that we are using zero electricity from conventional sources, but we will try to minimise it,” he said.Dr Tan Thuan Chew, an expert in alternative proteins at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said the process of cultivating meat is “not entirely without environmental impact”.

“However, it is still an emerging technology and more research and development are needed to make it commercially viable and sustainable,” he said. Malaysia's Cell AgriTech and Singapore-based Umami Meats signing an agreement at a conference on cultivated meat in Kuala Lumpur on Mar 16, 2023. On his end, Mr Ng said Cell AgriTech has invited the halal certification authority in Malaysia to lead the discussion as part of a working committee with academia.“They need some standards, starting from how we take the cells from the animal. If they have some standards, we believe that halal certification can be possible.”Commentary: Is lab-grown meat a new frontier or a passing fad?

This advantage, he believes, would outweigh any potential environmental benefits when making his product appeal to the Malaysian public.“But Malaysia has also committed to net carbon emissions agreements, so will fall under the government’s agenda.”Dr Tan said Malaysian authorities can develop policies and regulations to promote sustainable livestock farming practices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the meat industry.

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