Executive Summary For decades, scientists have been developing technologies and methods to grow meat from animal cells rather than raising and slaughtering animals. Meat grown through cell culturing processes is called “cultivated meat”. Cultivated meat is moving from research and development towards regulatory consideration in the UK. As this shift occurs, questions of governance, purpose, and food system implications have become more salient. This report summarises insights from the first year of the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) Citizen Forum (2024-2025), an ongoing deliberative process engaging members of the public upstream of cultivated meat’s introduction in the UK. Over a year-long facilitated deliberation, citizens engaged with scientists, regulators, and other experts to explore the implications of cultivated meat for public health, the environment, equality, animal welfare, and the distribution of power within the food system. Additionally, through a series of ‘Deep Dive’ sessions on specific technical questions, the Forum has had a range of early-stage impacts on CARMA’s research agenda and the Food Standards Agency’s regulatory sandbox on cell-cultivated products. Overall, the Forum – which consisted of 18 individuals selected to represent the diversity of the UK public – did not reach a simple position for or against cultivated meat. Instead, they have spent a year discussing their hopes and concerns and developing a set of conditions that they believe could ensure cultivated meat contributes to a fairer food future. While many were reassured by the robustness of UK food safety regulation, and the role of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), they were clear that safety alone is insufficient to secure public confidence. The CARMA Citizen Forum’s recommendations reflect areas of broad citizen consensus about what is required for cultivated meat to earn public trust and social licence in the UK. The recommendations centre around the themes of Public Health & Food Safety, Power & Transparency, and Equality & Affordability. The Forum’s Recommendations Public Health & Food Safety: To protect public health, UK regulation should include: 1. Two-year clinical-style eating trials to measure direct health impacts. 2. Mandatory ongoing, long-term and independent product testing. Strict rules on importing cultivated meat, even for products that contain traces. Production licences that are only granted for a limited time frame, e.g., ten years. Power & Transparency: To build citizen trust in the food system, UK regulators should: Create a non-commercial governing body to oversee the cultivated meat industry that: Provides balanced governance. Collaborates internationally and steers investment to low-income countries. Champions open access and antitrust law [fair competition]. Spots and flags loopholes through independent scrutiny. Benchmarks regulatory standards. Sets industry norms and standards on transparency. Ensure no single company can own more than one part of the supply chain or own a patent [intellectual property] for more than two years. Consider factors beyond health and safety regulation – industry should also be accountable on animal ethics, environmental impacts, and industry power. Equality & Affordability: To ensure cultivated meat contributes to a fair food system, UK policymakers should: Resource a sustained analysis of how cultivated meat could impact food equality. Support farmers through compensatory schemes. The Forum’s Hopes The Forum also remained hopeful that cultivated meat would be beneficial for our food system and the planet. They hoped cultivated meat will: Reduce animal suffering. After public health, animal welfare was one of the biggest concerns of the group. In addition to hoping cultivated meat would reduce animal suffering, citizens want to see cultivated meat production processes where cells are harvested in a way that is minimally invasive, and that minimises reliance on animal products and traditional agriculture. Most members thought this would widen the market, making it appeal to vegetarians as well as meat-eaters. Reduce the environmental impact of our diets. The group understands and cares about the unsustainability of our current food system. They hope cultivated meat will help to reduce the impact of our diets on the environment. Increase the resilience and security of our food system. Given previous shocks to our food system – from famines to mad cow disease – the Forum members hope that cultivated meat could increase the resilience of our food system. They also expressed a hope that cultivated meat may provide a source of protein as the world’s population grows. Deep Dives Throughout the year, citizens discussed a range of specific technical research questions from CARMA scientists and a question about labelling from the FSA. They gave the following guidance: How should CARMA source animal cells for cultivated meat production? · In the short to medium term, the Citizen Forum recommend that CARMA focus on sourcing cells from adult animals as long as this can be done in a way that minimises animal suffering. · In the longer term, they think CARMA should develop cell lines. However, they also think that genetic engineering might make cultivated meat less likely to be accepted by the general public. · The group thinks CARMA should avoid using embryonic cells, as their use raised emotive concerns and reflections on animal suffering and cruelty. They were more open to this option if they were produced by in vitro fertilisation, rather than taken from pregnant animals, however, regardless of how they are sourced, citizens felt there would be much more public pushback to this option. What amino acid sources should CARMA focus research efforts on? · CARMA should explore animal by-products: The group felt that if an animal is being slaughtered, they would prefer it all to be used, rather than parts going to waste. This was not a unanimous preference, however, as some members felt as few animal products as possible should be used. · Be cautious of purpose-grown crops: The Forum raised concerns that using land to grow crops for cultivated meat production was no different to growing them for animal agriculture. · Keep the ‘door open’ to circularity and plant by-products: The group liked the idea of circularity but had concerns that using waste from another cellular agriculture processes could ‘lock-in’ or amplify any contamination, citing the BSE crisis as an example of potential risks. Plant by-products were seen as a good option, although the group thought crops should be produced in a way that reduces environmental harm. How should CARMA measure environmental impacts? · Environmental impact is more than GHG emissions: Although GHG emissions ranked highly, so did other factors such as water use and eutrophication. In fact, the group felt that all the measures were important and sometimes found it hard to prioritise one over another. · Health impacts should be prioritised: The Forum were most concerned about measures that directly affect human health such as toxicity. · Provide a comparison: The group found it hard to weigh up the different measures and suggested that also looking at the environmental impact of traditional agriculture would make it easier to compare. · Add social impacts and animal welfare: The Forum felt that it was important to weigh the environmental analysis alongside social impacts such as job creation and equal access to good food. FSA: How should cultivated meat products be labelled? · Develop a clear, standardised, and mandatory front-of-pack symbol for cultivated meat—ideally based on stakeholder co-design and public testing. · Ensure label prominence comparable to allergens or health warnings. · Include concise wording about the product’s origin, such as: “Grown from animal cells in a lab” or “Cell-based meat, cultivated from animal tissue.” · Use the term “cell” in the official name or category of the product to avoid confusion and promote transparency. Next Steps The CARMA Citizen Forum is a multi-year process. Each year we will invite a new cohort of citizens to explore and deliberate on developments in cultivated meat and the broader area of cellular agriculture. This first chapter of the CARMA Citizen Forum represents the beginning of an ongoing process rather than a definitive statement. Future cohorts will engage with new developments and expand the focus to other areas of cellular agriculture. As these technologies continue to evolve, maintaining spaces for open, critical, and informed public deliberation remains crucial. Technical innovation alone will not determine whether cultivated meat succeeds in the UK. Its ability to contribute to a more sustainable and fairer food system will depend on how it is governed, regulated, and integrated within existing social, cultural, and political arrangements.

Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 CARMA & Cultivated Meat 7 What is Cultivated Meat?. 7 The Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA). 8 Conceptual Design 10 Design Principles. 11 Food Systems Thinking. 12 Programme. 13 Recruitment. 14 The Forum’s Recommendations 15 Public Health and Food Safety. 16 Power and Transparency. 17 Equality and Affordability. 18 The Forum’s Hopes. 19 Impacts 20 How should CARMA source animal cells for cultivated meat production?. 20 What amino acid sources should CARMA focus research efforts on?. 22 How should CARMA measure environmental impacts?. 23 FSA: How should cultivated meat products be labelled?. 24 Conclusion 25 Authors & Acknowledgements 26 References 27