Netherlands Emerges as European Leader in Cultivated Meat Innovation

2026-02-01 bio

Amsterdam, Sunday, 1 February 2026.
The Netherlands is positioning itself at the forefront of Europe’s cultivated meat revolution, with the world’s first cultivated meat farm established in Zuid-Holland and significant government backing. Despite recent setbacks like Meatable’s bankruptcy, Dutch innovation continues through partnerships between traditional farmers and tech companies, supported by EU funding and research institutes like Wageningen. This transition aligns with global predictions that cultivated meat could replace industrial livestock by 2050, offering the Netherlands a competitive advantage in addressing rising global protein demand while achieving climate goals.

Understanding Cultivated Meat Technology and Its Benefits

This development represents a significant advancement in agritech and foodtech innovation. Cultivated meat technology produces real animal protein by extracting cells from living animals and growing them into muscle tissue in controlled bioreactors, where they are fed, multiplied, and combined with plant-based ingredients [8]. The process requires only a small cell sample from a living animal, eliminating the need for traditional livestock farming [8]. The environmental benefits are substantial: cultivated meat could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 92% and decrease land use by 95% compared to conventional beef production [2]. Additionally, this technology could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 92% while requiring up to 90% less land, water, and energy compared to traditional livestock farming [2].

Global Market Trajectory and Investment Patterns

The cultivated meat sector has experienced significant volatility in recent years, reflecting the challenges of emerging technology markets. Global investment in cultivated meat peaked in 2021 at $1.36 billion but dramatically declined to just $36 million in the first nine months of 2025 [4][7]. This downturn coincides with venture capitalists shifting focus from sustainable innovations to artificial intelligence technologies [4]. Despite this investment contraction, the artificial intelligence applications within cultivated meat show promise, with the global AI in cultivated meat market valued at $54.65 million in 2025 and projected to reach $573.45 million by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of 26.5% [7]. The sector has attracted an estimated €2 billion in total investment globally [8].

Dutch Innovation Leadership Despite Market Setbacks

The Netherlands has emerged as a European hub for cultivated meat innovation, though not without challenges. The sector experienced a significant setback in late December 2025 when Meatable, a Leiden-based cultivated meat company, was liquidated after burning through approximately €85 million over seven years [4]. Agronomics, the main shareholder, cited the company’s failure to deliver expected performance due to foreseen and unforeseen risks [4]. Despite this setback, Dutch investment remains strong, with Invest-NL having invested €15 million in both Meatable and Mosa Meat [4]. The Netherlands has invested approximately £50 million in cultivated meat and precision fermentation technologies [2], demonstrating continued government commitment to the sector.

World’s First Cultivated Meat Farm Operational in Zuid-Holland

A groundbreaking development occurred in Schipluiden, Zuid-Holland, where dairy farmer Corné van Leeuwen partnered with RespectFarms to establish the world’s first cultivated meat farm [3]. The initiative began 1.5 years ago when van Leeuwen met Ralf Becks, co-founder of RespectFarms, a company that had been developing cultivated meat technology for over 3.5 years [3]. The operation is supported by a four-year pilot project backed by the province of Zuid-Holland and the European Union, involving collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Safety and Nature, Wageningen Livestock Research, and cultivated meat producer Mosa Meat [3]. The bioreactor currently has a capacity of 20 liters with plans to expand to 200 liters [3]. As van Leeuwen explained, ‘We want to produce cultivated meat on a small scale on a farm because many of the resources you need are already here’ [3].

Strategic Positioning for Future Growth

The Dutch government’s strategic approach extends beyond individual company support to broader ecosystem development. The Good Food Institute (GFI), which has supported 174 companies globally as of late 2025, has played a crucial role in advancing the sector through funding open-access research, shaping government regulations, and supporting industry growth [2]. The organization’s Research Grants Programme has provided over $24 million to support 129 research projects across 25 countries since 2019 [2]. LIOF, Limburg’s regional development company, anticipates significant opportunities in cultivated meat with the emergence of Cultivate at Scale in Maastricht, a spin-out of Mosa Meat working on cellular agriculture [9]. The European Union has adopted the Biotech Act to transform Europe into a biotechnological superpower, specifically including cultivated meat in its strategic vision [4]. Mosa Meat was recently selected for a pilot project with the British government to accelerate cultivated meat’s entry into the UK market [4], demonstrating the international competitiveness of Dutch cultivated meat technology.

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alternative proteins cultivated meat