What is Cell Culture Media

Growing cell based food requires the following inputs:
1. Muscle pre-cursor cells (starting cells taken from an animal to replicate)
2. Scaffold (a supportive structure for the cells to grow)
3. Bioreactor (an aseptic temperature and PH controlled environment i.e. a home)
4. Cell Culture Media (a growth medium i.e. food)

Cell culture media contains nutrients (both organic and inorganic): vitamins, salts, O₂ and CO₂ gas phases, serum proteins, carbohydrates, cofactors.

Serum proteins are an integral component to cell culture media. Serum provides various growth factors and hormones involved in growth promotion and specialized cell function.

The most common serum on the market is fetal bovine serum: blood taken from an unborn calf whose mother was slaughtered. Therefore reliant on the current system of slaughterhouse agriculture and contrary to the point of cell based meat production.

There are companies working on artificial cell culture media that do not contain fetal bovine serum, but it is still not clear as to whether these serums can efficiently promote cell growth.