REACT-EU funding for the production of synthetic meat
12.11.2021
Question for written answer E-005095/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Pina Picierno (S&D), Paolo De Castro (S&D), Giuliano Pisapia (S&D), Brando Benifei (S&D), Andrea Cozzolino (S&D), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D)
The ‘Feed for Meat’ project by the Dutch companies Nutreco and Mosa Meat recently received a significant grant of EUR 2 million from the REACT-EU programme to develop the production of cellular food and synthetic meat.
REACT-EU is an instrument created to stimulate economic recovery after the serious crisis caused by COVID-19 in the most affected European regions.
In February 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, Mosa Meat announced a funding round that raised USD 85 million[1], while in May Nutreco acquired a Brazilian company with USD 44 million of equity capital[2].
At this time, the benefits to animal welfare and human health of consuming and producing synthetic meat and producing meat in a laboratory are unknown or unproven. Their environmental impacts − arising from intensive use of energy and resources − could be higher than those of farms. There is a risk of jeopardising life in rural areas and distorting competition with European farmers.
In light of this, can the Commission clarify what criteria and grounds were used to allocate substantial sums of public money, intended to support the post-pandemic recovery, to this project?