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Read excerpts from the articles “One cell (+ residual raw material) can become several thousand kilos of meat” and “Agricultural robots can be Norway's next great export success” aloud to the class. Ask students to create a mind map about Innovation in agriculture. Write a common mind map on the board.

“One cell (+ residual raw material) can become several thousand kilos of meat

Science fiction? Not at all. Nofima researcher Sissel B. Rønning believes that this is how future meat production will be.

Therefore, she is both pleased and proud that Nofima, as the first institute in Norway with public funding, dared to tackle a field of research that is still quite controversial.

– Food production accounts for a large part of the global greenhouse gas challenge. And meat production is singled out as the worst. The meat industry is therefore looking for new and more environmentally friendly ways to produce meat and animal proteins. Cultured meat, completely independent of animal production, is an environmentally friendly production of protein for a growing world population. That is why it is so important that both the professional communities in Nofima, and thus also Norway as a food nation, are well ahead in development, says Sissel B. Rønning.

The starting point is a cell sample from a living cow. A bioreactor, a serum and a few weeks later the result can be thousands of kilos of cultured meat.

Rigid, formal processes

There are claimed to be some ethical and regulatory dilemmas associated with growing meat. Which ones do you see?

– We are talking about sustainability, environmentally, economically and socially. There are many employees linked to the conventional production of meat – both in agriculture and industry. Growing meat will not be socially sustainable if it leads to job losses. And then there is this input factor in the serum that is the “food” for the cells. When it comes to the regulatory side, there are not many dilemmas, but there are some rigid, formal processes linked to the new way of producing proteins. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rules, it must be documented that it is safe, says Sissel Rønning, adding that it is actually already permitted to use dipped meat in restaurants in Singapore.

In 2013, for the first time, a real burger was tasted, grown in the lab by Professor Mark Post at Maastricht University. This burger, which cost 2.8 million Norwegian kroner to produce, showed that it is possible to grow meat in the lab.

The challenge now is to achieve large-scale production that is both cheap, environmentally friendly and efficient, with an end product that can be used directly for food.”

(Excerpt from the article “One cell (+ residual raw material) can become several thousand kilos of meat

(Published on Nofima.no 19.10.2022) Link to the full article: https://nofima.no/resultater/en-celle-restrastoff-kan-bli-flere-tusen-kilo-kjott/

“Agricultural robots could be Norway's next big export success”

Norway could be facing a new export adventure. "Agricultural robots developed in Norway have the potential to become a great international success," says Åge Klepp, head of research and innovation at the Norwegian Agricultural Cooperative.

The agricultural robot Thorvald, the spraying robot Asterix, and the grazing technology NoFence. Norway is far ahead in the development of automated agricultural machinery.

Klepp believes that investing in agricultural technology is a win-win for Norway.

– A focus on agricultural technology is not only a good response to achieving the goals in the agriculture climate plan, but can also be an export success with significant value creation for Norway, he says.

Collaboration with agriculture is important for success 

Norwegian farmers are known for being high-tech and are eager to adopt new equipment.

The professor says he depends on having a cooperative agriculture that is willing to participate in the development for them to succeed.

– One advantage of Thorvald is that it has been developed specifically for Norwegian conditions. This makes it attractive to Norwegian farmers, but will also give us a competitive advantage in the future, says From….

Must transfer knowledge from oil and gas to green industries

Klepp believes we now need to use the knowledge we have gained in other fields, such as oil and gas, and transfer this knowledge to agriculture.

“The potential is enormous, so it’s almost a bit surprising that no one has done this in Norway already,” says the head of the department.”

(Excerpt from the article “Agricultural robots can be Norway's next big export success” taken from Landbruk.no, 21.06.2020)

Link to the full article: https://www.landbruk.no/internasjonalt/landbruksroboter-norges-neste-store-eksportsuksess/

Sub-topics:

Lab-grown food

Precision agriculture

Robots and AI innovations

Job losses

Resistance to the digitalization of agriculture