In Chicago, cultured meat startup Because, Animals aims to launch a treat for cats in 2022 that contains lab-grown mouse meat.
Its first product, called Cultured Mouse Cookies for Cats, is ready for scale-up, although regulatory approval for commercial sales is still outstanding. The company is also working to develop lab-grown rabbit for dogs.
“The ultimate goal of most cultured meat companies is to create a product that will allow animals to be taken out of the food supply chain,” Shannon Falconer, CEO and cofounder of Because, Animals, tells Fast Company. “And, given that humans are the largest consumers of traditional meat, it makes sense to focus on humans when making a cultured meat product. However, something that most people are unaware of is that, in addition to humans, there is another hugely significant population driving the animal agriculture industry forward: our pets.”
According to Fast Company, pet food accounts for over 25% of animal agriculture’s environmental footprint.