Eating for a Sustainable Future Harnessing Science to Drive Canada’s Cellular Agriculture Opportunity by/par Laura Riley, Manager, Ontario Genomics, Elaine Corbett, Director, Ontario Genomics
GLOBAL POPULATION GROWTH AND FOOD INSECURITY, EVOLVING CONSUMER PREFERENCES, AND CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE are increasing the need for new and sustainable food production methods to augment conventional agriculture and food industries. As a multi-sectoral discipline, cellular agriculture provides solutions using cell cultures, tissue engineering or precision fermentation to biomanufacture food and other products. Dairy, egg proteins, honey, and ingredients, such as flavours, pigments or fats to enhance plant-based products, are examples of the equivalent foods being made through precision fermentation, while cultivated products include various meats and seafood. These innovations are underpinned by genomics and engineering biology - a cross-sectoral platform technology built on the convergence of biological, computational, and engineering disciplines, enabling directed programming of biological systems to create miniature “biological factories”. Building on a 2020 whitepaper, the 2021 Ontario Genomics’ report1, Cellular Agriculture: Canada’s $12.5 Billion Opportunity in Food Innovation, articulates three interconnected, actionable opportunities for Canada to realize the enormous economic potential of this expanding global market: 1. Develop a national vision and strategy for a Canadian cellular agriculture industry in the near term; 2. Establish a clear and transparent regulatory framework for cellular agriculture products in Canada; 3. Provide supporting mechanisms for research and commercial development. With these opportunities in mind, Ontario Genomics partnered with the Canadian Food Innovation Network to create the AcCELLerate-ON - Food Innovation with Cellular Agriculture competition. By attracting highly competitive applications from across Ontario, encompassing innovations in precision fermentation and cultivation to create a variety of food products while addressing In partnership with the Food & Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley, in collaboration with Dr. Mike von Massow, University of Guelph, and funded by Ontario Genomics and Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada.
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Spring | Printemps 2022
BIOTECanada
Ardra’s heme fermenter
challenges in the fundamental underlying science, this funding opportunity provides a snapshot of the budding industry in Ontario and Canada. One such budding Toronto-based start-up, Ardra, uses precision fermentation to produce animal-free heme, which
