Resumo

Cultivated meat is an emerging food innovation that cultivates animal cells in a bioreactor, without resourcing the slaughter of animals that has been gathering attention as a sustainable alternative to conventional meat. Such a disruptive innovation is embedded in a context of uncertainty and ambiguity wherein the institutional environment is shaping its legitimacy and development in leading countries.

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the factors related to property rights that are currently influencing the regulatory approval of cultivated meat products in leading countries, specifically in the U.S. and EU. To this end, the research question that guides this essay is: How are institutions influencing the property rights of cultivated meat technology? By answering this question, it is aimed to discuss what is being debated regarding property rights regarding the upcoming cultivated meat industry

The institutions or “the rules of the game” are the mechanisms that reduce uncertainties and guide human interaction. Institutions constrain and enable decisions and actions; thus, institutions reflect the way society has evolved. The rules established by institutions directly impact the way organizations function. Economic property rights are the rights to use an asset/resource granted to an individual (herein, startups). Legal property rights are rights granted by the State to use the attributes of an asset/resource. Both rights are not static, they are dynamic

The prioritized debates in regulatory institutions in the U.S. and EU are: i) how to protect property related to growth processes, ii) how to protect property related to cell lines, iii) how to prevent a few companies from creating monopolies? and iv) how it will be labeled.

This essay aimed at providing insights on how are institutions influencing the property rights of cultivated meat technology? The stronger the institutional environment, the stronger the protections (on property rights) available. The stronger the protections available, the better these creations are protected. The better these creations are protected, the more incentives for funding are research are secured. Thus, startups are encouraged to pursue their activities towards the development of cultivated meat technology.

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