French startup Gourmey's foie gras.
Controversial French delicacy foie gras could see a future market expansion; as a Paris-based startup raised $10 million to develop a cruelty-free and lab-grown alternative.
France is the world's largest producer of the fatty meat, feeding national and global demand with over 40 million duck and geese. However, within the past decade, concerns about animal welfare in foie gras production took a prominent role in shaping consumers’ opinions and policies.
Launched just about two years ago, Gourmey aims to perfect their recipe, able to recreate the fattened duck or geese liver within labs and without guilt. The founders want to “honor culinary traditions and heritage while looking to the future:” the cells for their flagship alt-meat foie gras comes from duck eggs, which are then cultivated in their labs.
Investors Point Nine, Air Street Capital, Heartcore Capital, Partech Bpifrance, Big Idea Ventures, Eutopia, Ataraxia VC, Beyond Impact backed the innovative idea that could be vital for preserving flavor without compromise. Cellular agriculture technologies might in fact be the only solution to overcome the intrinsic issues of such meaty quintessential French dishes.
Savage gavage
Foie gras is nothing else than duck or geese liver, where low-heat cooking methods of the meat result in the most well known kind of terrines or patés. This dish comes from South-West France, but it commonly appears on Christmas tables and wine bars’ menus across the country.
Intensive farming practices are bad for the environment and limiting production and consumption of meat will be crucial to tackle the climate crisis. But this is not the main reason for which, many consumers have dropped the item from their grocery lists. The controversy of foie gras production lies in duck and goose force-feeding, which is instrumental for its production.
The process called “gavage” induces an abnormal growth of the liver and in the liver cells. During the forced feeding stage, the liver increases in size ultimately reaching 7 to 10 times its original volume.
Guilt and meat free alternatives
Many NGOs battling for animal welfare have previously tried to create awareness on the issue, while some others focused as well on tasteful plant-based solutions for consumers.
The first attempt to create a an ethical foie gras was firstly introduced in 2008, by GAIA, the Belgian Action Group in the Interest of Animals. Belgium is one of the few European countries producing foie gras and the NGO launched “Faux Gras®”, a plant-based alternative to the meaty spread, to encourage consumers to abandon the occasional habit of consuming the delicacy.
In the U.K. PETA, the charity dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals, launched a collaboration with Michelin’s starred French chef Alexis Gauthier, to recreate a vegan duck liver terrine based on mushroom, for its fine-dining plant-based restaurant Gauthier Soho.
But for those consumers who believe tradition and flavor lay on the ingredient itself, plant-based options are not enough, and lab-grown meat could be their best bet.
European market
Gourmey’s journey starts with poultry meat, with the aim to find a sustainable and ethical solution for the most consumed meat on Earth. The cruelty-free and lab-grown alternative could give confidence to consumers that have opted out for such a product while reshaping policies and market.
Force feeding and animal welfare in the poultry sector is a top priority on the policy agenda of the European Agricultural and Fishery Council, which lastly discussed the issue on July 19. Many countries including the U.K., Italy, Israel and Norway have already banned the production of the delicacy, with consequences on internal markets. Currently the only cruelty-free foie gras producer is the Spanish Pateria de Sousa. De Sousa’s geese are able to run freely, yet the foie gras is only seasonal and accessible for a small market, due to its price of about $180 dollars a jar.
The discovery of new production methods that do not employ forced feeding, can unlock market growth and local production, but as well inspire policies within the European continent. With the $10 million seed funding round, Gourmey will grow in capacity to scale up production, yet the first export markets will remain the U.S. and Asia. The current European regulatory framework, does not yet allow lab-grown meat within supermarkets and restaurants, however some duck egg cells and the attempt to save a national dish might make the case for speeding up such a process.
