Cultivated Meat and Bioeconomy in Tandem: Unlocking the Sustainability Implications of Transformative Food Supply Chains

Food production and consumption systems are at the center of the sustainability debate. The alternative meat sector is emerging as a promising response to food production and consumption’s overwhelming environmental and social impacts, such as high carbon emissions, biodiversity destruction, pollution, food insecurity, and animal suffering. This chapter provides an in-depth exploration of the transformative view of cultivated meat supply chains when intertwined with the concepts and principles of the bioeconomy. By analyzing their fundamental connections, we explore the broad sustainability implications that arise from this relationship. As the field of cultivated meat production evolves, understanding its impacts and its profound implications becomes critical. In addition to contributing to the ongoing dialogue on these emerging issues, this chapter offers a potential blueprint for framing the strategic interplay between the development of cultivated supply chains, the bioeconomy, and the ensuing sustainability implications. This conceptual incursion into many emerging areas underscores the importance of these interactions, particularly in the context of future food production, consumption systems, and overarching global sustainability goals.