Oxford spin-out targets slaughter-free pig products

In the United Kingdom, startup Ivy Farm Technologies is on a mission to save 170,000 pigs from slaughter by scaling up production of lab-grown pork. 

The Oxford University spin-out has raised £16 million (US$22.6 million) to establish an R&D facility near the school’s campus. It hopes to eventually produce 12,000 metric tons of pork annually—enough to save nearly 200,000 pigs from the slaughterhouse. It aims to begin selling lab-grown sausages by 2023. 

 “If you look at the world around us, the way we currently produce and consume food is unsustainable,” says Ivy Farm Technologies cofounder Russ Tucker.  Nearly half of harvest globally goes toward feeding livestock, he adds. “Cultured meat is the silver bullet – through cutting-edge technology, we can provide real, high-quality meat while saving the planet.”