Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described cell-based steak as ‘delicious and guilt-free’. 

The politician became the first head of state to taste meat cultivated outside of a cow after visiting Aleph Farms.

The brand’s cultivated steak is grown directly from cow cells under controlled conditions, using ‘a fraction of the resources required for raising an entire animal for meat’ without the use of anitbiotics. 

‘A powerhouse for alternative meat’

In a statement sent to Plant Based News, Netanyahu said: “It’s delicious and guilt-free, I can’t taste the difference.

“I have directed the State Secretary Tzahi Braverman to appoint a body to serve these industries in order to connect and oversee all the stakeholders operating in this field. Israel will become a powerhouse for alternative meat and alternative protein.”

Food security 

Isreal is currently facing food security challenges, with 85 percent of the locally consumed beef being imported from other countries. 

“The new national plan for alternative proteins involves six different ministries and capitalizes on Israel’s unique capabilities,” says Didier Toubia, Co-Founder and CEO of Aleph Farms.

“Aleph Farms is a great example of such collaboration between a governmental agency, the industry, and the academy – all working together to secure a leading position in this key industry. 

“The goal of implementing such national programs for food security is to provide unconditional and secure supplies of quality nutrition to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

“We feel lucky to be part of the local cultivated meat industry, which is working collaboratively to stimulate a global transition for the protein sector.”

‘Central economic growth’

Nir Goldstein, Managing Director of The Good Food Institute Isreal (GFI), adds that alternative protein production could prove to be a ‘central economic growth engine’ for the country. 

He says the industry if given governmental support, could create an additional 11,000 jobs that would ‘earn the economy billions of dollars each year’. 

“The Israeli government has turned the country into a nerve center for plant-based and cultivated meat innovation,” added Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director of GFI. 

“Israel is creating a welcoming ecosystem for alternative protein innovation, and the Prime Minister being the first head of state to eat cultivated meat exemplifies this support and underlines the nation’s commitment to the future of meat.”