The dietary protein requirements of almost 9.8 billion people need to be fulfilled in a healthy and sustainable manner by 2050. Meat consumption contributes to 35% of the total protein requirement of the Indian population. Meat intake needs to be sustainable and economical without causing food security and production issues. Consumption of meat in India is projected to rise with an increase in consumer incomes. Hence, novel alternative proteins, including cultured meat (CM) and plant-based meat (PBM), are being developed to satisfy the demand for meat-derived proteins in the diet. This involves the creation of novel PBM/CM products with a similar taste and texture as conventional animal meat with tailor-made nutritional attributes. In this article, we provide critical insights into the technical and business aspects of relevance to production and sustainability encountered by the Indian CM industry at a series of stages that can be termed the CM value chain comprising upstream and downstream processes. We shed light on the need for regulatory authorities and a framework. Consumer concerns towards CM products can be alleviated through effective scientific communication strategies, including prior familiarity, narrative building and transparency, and labelling aspects of CM products.
Keywords: India; alternative protein; cellular agriculture; consumer behaviour; cultivated meat; cultured meat; food production; meat substitute; plant-based meat; sustainability.