Mosa Meat, a leader in cultivated beef production, announced to have become a Certified B Corporation™. This marks a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to creating a more sustainable food system and bringing together partners, investors and suppliers who use business as a force for good. Upon certification, Mosa Meat became the first cultivated meat company worldwide to become B Corp™ Certified.
Founded in 2016, Mosa Meat gained international acclaim in 2013 when its founders, Mark Post and Peter Verstrate, introduced the world’s first cultivated beef hamburger grown directly from cow cells. Since then, the company has been dedicated to producing real beef in a manner that benefits people, animals, and the planet. Mosa Meat’s B Corp™ Certification validates its mission to fundamentally reshape the global food system, showcasing its environmental and social performance, commitment to accountability, transparency and leadership in driving economic systems change.
“We are thrilled to become B Corp Certified,” said Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat. “This certification validates our commitment to sustainable practices and ethical foundations as well as strengthens our position as trendsetters in the global cellular agriculture movement. We believe in creating real, delicious meat that positively impacts the climate and our food system and are optimistic that these values will be shared across the many stakeholders in our nascent field of cellular agriculture.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, advisor and investor said “Mosa Meat continues to be a champion for change. I am proud to see Mosa Meat be the first cultivated meat company in the world to become B Corp Certified and hope it is the first of many.”
To receive B Corp™ Certification businesses are assessed on performance, accountability, and transparency in their social and environmental impact. They are holistically evaluated on aspects ranging from governance and mission to environmental practices, workers’ welfare and supply chain practices. With this certification Mosa Meat joins a community of caring, responsible and courageous leaders like Patagonia, Amy’s Kitchen, and Ben & Jerry’s that have become a Certified B Corporation™ previously. After more than a year of thorough evaluation, Mosa Meat became B Corp™ Certified with two Impact Business Models (IBMs): ‘Resource Conservation’ and ‘Mission Locked’.
- Resource Conservation recognizes products/services that reduce resource use (energy and water)
- Mission locked recognizes companies that protect their mission and ability to formally consider stakeholders in decision making through their corporate structure or corporate governing documents
For an IBM certification, companies need to demonstrate principles that are specific, material, verifiable, lasting, and extraordinary. While the B Corp™ process is quite selective for companies to go through, gaining an IBM is considered to be even more challenging.
To realise the biggest positive climate impact, Mosa Meat is focused on cultivating beef over other types of meat first, and uses 100% renewable energy at their production facility. According to an independent, peer-reviewed Life Cycle Analysis study, cultivated beef production could reduce climate impact by 92%, air pollution by 93%, use 95% less land and 78% less water when compared to industrial beef production. Additionally, cultivated beef production offers the opportunity to free up land for more regenerative agriculture and re-wilding of habitats, which would further reduce negative impacts of food production. The automated process through which cultivated meat is produced, and the clean environment of its manufacturing, will also drastically reduce the need for antibiotics use and the risk of pathogens, contaminants and foodborne illnesses associated with intensive animal farming.
