Clean Meat is at the brink of revolutionising the livestock and fishing industries, expected to hit the market this year. How to invest.
Reposting here if that is ok, because it was deleted from wsb, haven't found out why yet.
The issues with the livestock and fishing industries have been blowing up lately, we are running out of fish and livestock is one of the leading causes of climate change. The question remains, how do we solve the problem. Some say 'do less, eat less' but I'd argue that this is anathema to humanity and obviously isn't going to work fast enough. We can solve this problem, like everything, with technology. Make something better and cheaper and the majority will follow.
This technology exists (lab grown/clean meat) and has been hitting the front page of reddit and international press almost daily at this point. Particularly because of the recent Netflix fishing documentary and Bill Gates letter. There is currently only one way to get in on the ride as a dirty retail investor. If this interests you, get ready for a deep dive.
I've been keeping an eye on and researching the lab grown meat industry for the last few years waiting for them to solve a technical and moral problem that was holding it back (FBS). Luckily this problem has largely been solved by each lab grown meat company individually, who have each finished developing their own solutions. Making Lab Grown Meat officially (and rebranded as) 'Clean Meat' and 'Cruelty Free.'
Many of these companies are building factories and aiming for product release by the end of the year. Basically a metric ton of funding was handed out in 2020 once these companies solved the FBS problem, massively accelerating their progress to the market.
Important Points:
Global meat, poultry and seafood market is growing to $7.3 trillion.
That's a lot of money.
Up to 99% of meat farming in America is factory farming.
Vast majority of consumers do not care about quality, just price.
People feel guilty about it.
84% of vegetarians return to eating meat.
Buuuut people want/need meat.
Producing meat at todays consumption level ethically is impossible.
Legislation incoming.
Future Meat Technologies says its cultured products will take up 99% less land, 96% less freshwater and emit 80% less greenhouse gases than traditional meat production
Self reported but reasonable when taking into account future economies of scale.
So, what to do.
People don't like doing less, people don't like feeling bad, solve the problem as ever with technology.
We simply skip the cow and grow the burger.
Is there competition from Big Meat?
As of yet, no, in fact, the opposite. Everyone knows the story of how the auto industry has been trying to crush or minimise electric cars for the last hundred years and are only recently and extremely reluctantly developing their own.
Not so with the meat industry, big players have instead invested directly into the growing new industry, could there be a greater approval than multi million investment, green lit by analysts and board, from the industry you intend to displace?
https://euromeatnews.com/Article-Tyson-Foods-announces-investment-in-clean-meat/697
Big Players supporting the tech
Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Founder of Google, Richard Reed (innocent drinks)
Optimistic speculation
Currently the tech is in infancy and producing simple produce, however there is little perceivable upper limit for the technology, want a perfect Wagyu steak for half the price of a real cheap offcut? Achievable. Exotic blends of Quail and Puffin? Why not. A Woodpecker steak the size of a small child? Let me get the extra large vat ready. As with most technologies the upper ceiling is a considerable distance away, but with the number of competitors and roughly 250 million of funding in 2020 alone, the rate of progress is blistering. It's just a matter of time.
Problems
Ick factor.
Solution = Used to be 'Lab Grown Meat.' Now it's being labelled as 'Clean Meat.' Currently 99.99% of budget is spent on R&D and funding as it should be. As they begin to come to market more will be spent on marketing, outreach etc...
Personally everyone I've talked to starts with the ick reaction, then shortly after admits they'd try it, then after debating the 'important points' believes in it's inevitability.
Criticism of carbon footprint = solved by intentionally linking up with renewable energy sources. Vast majority of companies are in it to solve the environmental problem and will make these moves.
The Stock
Agronomics - ANIC
As of this post bouncing to around 28,50GBX on the London Stock Exchange. This is the only method a retail investor can get into the scene, will provide shareholders with exposure to a concentrated portfolio of companies in this area. In laymans it is like a lab grown meat etf.
Current Weighting
Links to each company here: https://agronomics.im/portfolio/
22.67% BlueNalu, Inc, 'Cellular Aquaculture' Fish stocks are dwindling and riddled with mercury and various extra toxins, not to mention the huge press and documentary situation lately on overfishing etc... Solves all of these problems. BlueNalu is currently one of the most promising of the bunch, aiming to release cultured fish to the market by the end of the year.
11.55% Meatable BV, focusing on cultivated beef and pork
10.53% Other alternative protein investments
Shiok Meats, developing cultured seafood with a focus on shrimp.
Oritain, data science to prevent fraud in food supply chains.
LegenDairy Foods, creating real, non cruelty dairy using fermentation techniques
GALY, producing cotton grown in a lab
Bond Pet Foods, Plant based and Cultured pet food
9.71% Solar Foods Oy, growing protein using a similar method to yeast to create protein powder, ultra low cost
8.70% Cash balances
7.92% Foods United, rebranded as LiveKindly, focusing on plant-based chicken
7.92% Tropic Biosciences UK Limited, Using CRISPR and other techniques to produce high performing varieties of tropical crops
6.60% Vitrolabs Inc, Lab grown leather.
5.67% Mosa Meats B.V., working on cultured beef burgers
5.28% Supermeat the Essence of Meat, cultured chicken, available in a restauraunt in Tel Aviv
3.45% Legacy portfolio
Big Players in Agronomics
Richard Reed - Chairman = Might know him as the founder of Innocent Drinks, Europes largest and most environmentally sustainable juice company, sold for $600m, now focuses on VC, finding and helping early stage consumer goods companies. Working on Graze, Deliveroo and Tails. - Taking consumer goods companies and turning them into global successes is like breathing to this guy.
Jim Mellon - Non Executive Director = Oxford grad billionaire investor, a true believer. - Truly believes in the tech and direction, huge resources to push these companies forwards and make it a reality. Has been consistently right for decades. One of the first to see the potential of SIlicon Valley. "You can play with the samples in the lab, it will be a very short amount of time till we see these products dispersed."
End Notes
If that wasn't enough, here's a quote from Winston 'fucking' Churchill
“[w]e shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium”.
https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/fifty-years-hence.html
What does it taste like? The chicken tastes like Chicken apparently. The beef tastes like beef. I'm done with links, google it you lazy apes.
Final note: This is a long term speculative tech play that if you agree with the above is the equivalent to being able to buy a piece of almost all silicon valley companies back in 2001
tldr; we can make burgers like we make beer, real meat for a fraction of the price, environmentally friendly, ANIC
edit; The stock is ANIC and is on the London Stock Exchange, you need an international broker like Interactive Brokers or Charles Schwab. Robinhood won't cut it. this is not financial advice etc... etc...