At a special event celebrating the ninth anniversary of the term “cellular agriculture,” a panel of industry pioneers gathered at Tufts University to reflect on the field’s history and future. Meera Zassenhaus, head of communications for the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA), moderates a discussion featuring New Harvest executive director Isha Datar, Perfect Day founder Ryan Pandya, and Kaplan Lab alum Natalie Rubio. The panel revisits the 2015 Facebook thread where the term was first coined and discusses how the industry has transitioned from an idealistic r&d phase to a more complex period of commercialization and institutional support.
The speakers provide a candid look at the challenges of balancing venture capital expectations with the long timelines required for biological innovation. Ryan Pandya shares his perspective on the capital-intensive nature of scaling production, while Natalie Rubio and Isha Datar emphasize the importance of mission-driven science and public funding in de-risking the field for future growth. Despite the “growing pains” of the industry, the panel remains optimistic about the long-term potential of cellular agriculture to create a more resilient and humane global food system, concluding the event with the first-ever tasting of cultivated salmon in Boston.