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How to Cultivate Meat
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How to Cultivate Meat
Greenpeace - Prague
20. 10. 2026
What does the cell need?
What does the cell need?
Food
Oxygen
Energy
Immunity
Thermal regulation
Waste removal
The environment is information
biochemical
mechanical
electrical
Differnt signals lead to different gene
expressions
Different gene expressions lead to different
cell identity and behaviour
Muscle cells
Fat cells
Differentiation
muscle lineage
fat cell lineage
Unspecialized cells
From one cell to an animal
fuse
myogenic
progenitor
satellite
cells
myoblast
myocyte
myotube
muscle
fibre
mesenchymal
progenitor
adipogenic
progenitor
preadipocyte
adipocyte
epiblast
mesoderm
🥚
zygote
Human embryo · Day 9
Human Embryo Day9 · Panzer VI-II · Wikimedia Commons · Unmodified
CC BY-SA 3.0 · creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
How do embryonic cells satisfy
their needs without a vascular
system?
Through diffusion /
their immediate environment
Human embryo · Day 9
Human Embryo Day9 · Panzer VI-II · Wikimedia Commons · Unmodified
CC BY-SA 3.0 · creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
From one cell to an animal
🥚
zygote
mesoderm
fuse
myogenic
progenitor
satellite
cells
myoblast
myocyte
myotube
muscle
fibre
mesenchymal
progenitor
adipogenic
progenitor
preadipocyte
adipocyte
epiblast
The dilemma
Proliferation
Differentiation
The dilemma
Proliferation
Differentiation
Zygote
The dilemma
Proliferation
Differentiation
Zygote
Muscle fibre
The dilemma
Proliferation
Differentiation
Zygote
Muscle fibre
ESC
The dilemma
Proliferation
Differentiation
Zygote
Muscle fibre
ESC
Satellite cells /
myoblast progenitor cells
The dilemma
Proliferation
Differentiation
Zygote
Muscle fibre
ESC
Satellite cells /
myoblast progenitor cells
Immortalized cells
The dilemma
Proliferation
Differentiation
Zygote
Muscle fibre
ESC
Satellite cells /
myoblast progenitor cells
Immortalized cells
iPSC
Our biopsy sample
How do the sample cells survive
outside the animal?
How do the sample cells survive outside the
animal?
We use a 'culture medium'
What goes into the culture medium?
Sugars for energy
Amino acids, lipids and
vitamins
Growth factors
Hormones and supplements
Salts and pH buffers
Growing at scale
Dish
Flask
Bioreactor
Expansion
Cell count
1,000
50 billion
100 billion
150 billion
200 billion
0
7
14
21
28
Population doublings
Expansion
Cell count
1,000
50 billion
100 billion
150 billion
200 billion
0
7
14
21
28
Population doublings
Expansion
Haach et al. (2025) · Frontiers in Nutrition · Figure 5D (cropped) · CC BY
doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1648935
How do we keep the inner cells alive?
Too little oxygen
Too few nutrients
Waste builds up
Growth slows; cells may die
Haach et al. (2025) · Frontiers in Nutrition · Figure 5D (cropped) · CC BY
doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1648935
How do we keep the inner cells alive?
Scaffold to the rescue
What does the scaffold provide?
Structural support
Transport
Spatial organization
Mechanical signalling
Biochemical signalling
Texture
Structural support ↔ Transport
Same load
More support
Less transport
Same load
More transport
Less support
How do we guide the cells
towards muscle?
How do we guide the cells towards muscle?
By changing the signals they
receive
From precursors to muscle
Myoblasts
Myocytes
Myotube
Differentiate
Fuse
Can proliferate
Exit the cell cycle
Many nuclei, one cell
And what about fat?
Adipogenic progenitors
Adipocytes
Different signals
A separate differentiation programme
Maturation
Myotubes
More mature muscle fibres
Mature
More contractile proteins · Organized muscle structure
Suitable medium · Mechanical cues · Time
Questions
Discussion
Should we recreate meat or
create something with different
look, taste or texture?
Discussion
Could cultivated meat be
healthier to eat?
Email me or message me on Signal
tsikov@gmail.com