Waste Management in Cultivated Meat Production

Waste management and environmental impacts remain fields that require assessment alongside the advances in cultivated meat production. Water and energy consumption, the demand for natural resources, and the generation of residues throughout the production chain must all be considered. These aspects can be more effectively adjusted in the early stages of development. By practicing “reduce, reuse, repurpose, refuse, and recycle,” we can optimize processes and explore innovative alternatives in the cultured meat market while prioritizing food and environmental safety. Despite the exponential increase in studies and patents dedicated to advancing cultivated meat production in recent years, there remains a gap in identifying and analyzing the environmental impacts associated with this process, particularly in understanding the generation of liquid, solid, and gaseous effluents with the objective of minimizing their production or repurposing them into other process streams. Considering the importance of developing and solidifying this bioprocess within the field of biotechnology, this chapter aims to address the latest advances in waste management within the cultivated meat production process. To achieve this goal, recent research focusing on characterizing the generated effluents has been conducted, exploring conventional treatments for these streams and integration strategies aligned with circular economy.