We love meat. And we love big. So if you’re big in meat, consider yourself delicious at Hamilton. Especially when you’re bringing more manufacturing jobs to our shores, like Israeli-based company Believer Meats is. They’re building the country’s largest production site for cultivated meat in Wilson, North Carolina. You heard us right. Lab-grown meat is all the rage, and it’s coming whether we like it or not.
How does cell-cultured meat happen? First, it’s a lot more humane. Picture one cow being able to feed a whole neighborhood for years. It starts with a biopsy from an animal like a cow or a chicken, from which cells are cultured in a lab and fed to grow and multiply. At Believer, they put those cells into their custom-made bioreactors with proprietary technology to produce high cell densities that continue to multiply until you can sink your teeth into them. By manipulating the cell density and shaping techniques, the final product mimics the experience of eating that burger.
Believer chose the area in Eastern North Carolina for its “pool of highly qualified talent” and its track record of “integrated tech-driven solutions to improve the lives of its citizens”, which very much aligns with the company’s mission. Once operational, the cell-based meat plant will have the capacity to produce at least 10,000 metric tons of meat. Along with startups like Impossible Foods, Believer aims to drive down the cost of lab-grown meat. Believer has figured out a way to clean and reuse the growth media for the cells, which makes it more efficient and cost-effective to produce.
So you can have your pig and eat it, too.