On the second day of examining agriculture found in Israel, members of Class XX of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program had an appointment with a 2017 startup Alt Meat Company, Aleph Farms. The company is “farming” a cultivated protein. We met with the co-founder and CEO, Didier Toubia, who is a food scientist and a self-described “serial entrepreneur.” Their first cultivated meat product is a thin-cut steak, cultivated from the cells of a beef animal. They are still waiting on regulatory approval for it to be released this year. It was ready to launch at the end of 2022.
Toubia says that he believes today’s population eats too much red meat, and that the work his company is doing is a positive for food security globally. His intention is not to replace all beef, but he feels that his marketing to Millennials and Gen Z will meet with success.
Toubia adds that they have removed “meat” from their website and advertised it as an alternative protein. He did not disclose any cost numbers of producing the product nor any specific prices they might charge for the product once rolled out, but the company feels that the economies of scale will drive prices down by 2028.
After the visit with Aleph Farms, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, talked with Dr. Rosslyn Biggs with the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine about what she took away from the group’s interaction with Toubia and his plans to take their alt meat protein product into the marketplace.
“I think the first thing that was really interesting to me, at least from this gentleman’s perspective, is they don’t view themselves as a competitor with our real beef that our farmers and ranchers right there in Oklahoma and in the region produce,” Biggs said. “They see it as an alternative for a certain sector of consumers.”
The group had some questions, Biggs said, regarding the ability to replace what ranchers do well from a health, affordability, and taste standpoint.
“There is a lot of things that have to come together, I think, for this particular group to outwork us in that realm,” Biggs said.
Biggs also reflected on the OALP and the opportunities the program has created for the group.
“We were able, today, to have, as we have throughout the program, a very respectful discussion,” Biggs said. “We recognize that we are not always going to see eye to eye on every little thing, but what we can agree on is that agriculture feeds and clothes the world, and that is where we want our focus.”
The connections and friendships she has made through the program, Biggs said, are irreplaceable.
Biggs is a participant in Class XX of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program that is traveling to Israel to look at all forms of agriculture within the country.
Learn more about the OALP by clicking here. Hays is traveling with Class XX as the Chair of the Advisory Group to OSU for the OALP. He represents Ag Groups and Agribusiness that make up the Advisory Board that help advise OSU in how the program can best be run.
