ARRIVAL
Enabling biotechnology for future food production

ARRIVAL aims to enable a wider implementation of alternative animal protein sources in food production chains, as well as preparing society, consumers, and the food industry for the potential impacts of this radical shift in production methods.
Start
19. Jun 2023
End
31. May 2027
Funded by
The Research Council of Norway
Cooperation
Sintef Industri, Høyskolen i Østfold, Ruralis, Teknologirådet, Nortura AS, Norilia AS, TINE AS
Project Manager(s):
Other Participants:
Mona Elisabeth Pedersen
Annette Fagerlund
Laura García Calvo
Paula Varela-Tomasco
The project uses modern biotechnology to meet tomorrow’s food production in a smart and innovative way, where Norwegian residual raw materials are input factors.
The need for alternative animal protein sources
Current estimates predict that global food production must increase more than 60% towards 2050, and as a result there has been an increasing pressure on the livestock sector to meet the growing demand for high-value animal protein. Although plant-based alternative foods have a lot of potential, these cannot truly mimic animal proteins, recreate the nutritional value, nor the mouthfeel, taste, or functionality. Also, from a circular bioeconomy perspective, increased recycling of waste streams from food production will be necessary.
Using Cellular Agriculture in future food production
We will employ ground-breaking new, enabling, and fundamentally different technologies to produce food proteins by Cellular Agriculture (CellAg). There are two kinds of CellAg production systems: precision fermentation and cultured meat. ARRIVAL will use both to produce milk, egg, and meat proteins, homologous to proteins normally produced through conventional agriculture, using Norwegian raw materials and by-products as input.
A transdisciplinary approach is necessary
CellAg is a revolution in the way we produce food that can lead to major changes in terms of agricultural production and ownership, land use, policymaking, food habits and not least ethical questions. How do we prepare consumers, society and the food industry for this radical shift?
In addition to investigating the technological changes CellAg might represent, ARRIVAL will, through a transdisciplinary approach, explore the foundations that must be laid before Norwegian consumers and society will and can adopt this technology. ARRIVAL will also explore the ethical and political values that such revolutionary mechanisms may come into conflict with. ARRIVAL will develop enabling biotechnology and knowledge, which will improve and modernize the existing land-based food industry. The novel biotechnological methodology to be developed will in the long term potentially be the foundation of a new kind of Norwegian food industry that will produce tomorrow’s food in a smart, sustainable, and innovative way.
ARRIVAL is a partner in Centre for Digital Life Norway