ARRIVAL – lab-grown food

Food production accounts for a large share of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Finding alternative methods of food production is therefore important for climate mitigation. One of these alternatives involves cultivating traditional agricultural products such as meat, eggs, and milk in a laboratory.

This type of production is still technically challenging, but progress is continuously being made. Recently, two producers in the United States were approved to sell chicken products that have been cultivated in a laboratory.

The ARRIVAL project

Cell-based agriculture is the foundation of the Norwegian ARRIVAL project (ARRIVAL of Cellular Agriculture-Enabling Biotechnology for Future Food Production), which is led by Nofima.

The project will research and develop new production methods in cell-based agriculture, but it will also explore the societal, ethical, and political aspects of such production. The aim is to achieve sustainable cultivation, for example, by using by-products and surplus heat from other industries.

There are many important questions to discuss: How could this affect jobs and expertise in existing agriculture? Who will be the food producers of the future? Will consumers accept this new form of food? Is this form of food production better in terms of animal welfare and climate emissions?

Foresight analysis of food production

The role of the Norwegian Board of Technology in the project is primarily related to trend analysis and foresight. Among other things, we will identify key trends and developments related to future food production. These trends will then be used to create a foresight map, which will serve as a basis for discussions about the future. A wide range of stakeholders will be involved, ensuring that many relevant groups participate in shaping policy recommendations on cell-based food production.