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The world’s first cultivated fish cat treats will be available to buy in Singapore and San Fransisco early next year. The product is a result of a collaboration between leading Singaporean cultivated seafood tech company UMAMI Bioworks and US company Friends & Family Pet Food Co. (FnF). They created the more sustainable fish treats made from fish cells cultured in a bioreactor.
Read more: ‘World First’ Cat Food Made With Cultivated Chicken Is Here
FnF says the treats are also rich in microalgae and essential nutrients to ensure they provide high-quality nutrition for cats. The product is currently awaiting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.
UMAMI Bioworks is a leading cultivated seafood tech company. Cultivated meat – also known as lab grown or cultured meat – uses cells from an animal to grow real meat in a bioreactor. The meat isn’t vegan, as it requires the use of an animal or animals in its production. But many vegans support the industry as a possible route out of traditional animal agriculture. Singapore has been at the forefront of cultivated meat production. It became the first country in the world to approve cultivated meat for human consumption in 2020. The US followed suit in 2023.
The new announcement comes just as the UK has become the first European country to approve cultivated meat to feed companion animals.
More sustainable cat food
Food for companion animals is mostly made from meat. As a result, it contributes between 1.1 and 2.9 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. In the US, feeding cats and dogs is estimated to account for around a quarter of food emissions.
For this reason, animal guardians are starting to look for more sustainable food options. Fish-based food for cats in particular may seem like a more sustainable choice. But the seafood industry has devastating impacts on marine life. An estimated 2.2 trillion wild fishes and 124 billion farmed fishes are killed each year to feed humans and animals. In the US alone, it’s thought that around 2 billion fishes a year are used in fish-based food for companion animals.
Read more: Dutch Cultivated Meat Brand ‘Meatable’ Is Bringing Pork Dumplings To Singapore
Industrial fishing results in huge amounts of bycatch, injuring and killing whales, dolphins, and other marine animals. Bottom trawling destroys ecosystems on the sea floor and scoops up animals indiscriminately.
Cultivated fish pet food aims to overcome these problems. “We isolate the cells from a small sample of fish tissue and then develop a stable cell line that can produce tens of thousands of tons of fish without sacrificing animals,” UMAMI Bioworks CEO Mihir Pershad told Plant Based News. “These novel cat treats embody our mission to provide high-quality, sustainable protein sources while alleviating the ecological pressure on our oceans.”
Ultimately, the company intends to make cultivated fish available for human consumption too.
Read more: Cultured Meat Brand Aims To Spare 27 Million Animals After Raising Nearly $100M
