Okanagan Specialty Fruits<\/a>, based in Summerland, B.C., grows novel tree fruit varieties developed through bioengineering. Its flagship product is the Arctic apple, which doesn\u2019t turn brown when bitten, sliced, or bruised (but does turn brown when it begins to rot). The company holds global intellectual property rights in compositions and methods for regulating expression of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes to control enzymatic browning in tree fruits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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The Problem<\/b><\/p>\n
Livestock produce emissions through enteric fermentation and manure, as detailed above. The pattern of land use change also generates emissions.<\/p>\n
The Solution<\/b><\/p>\n
Cellular agriculture is a discipline that can transform yeast, bacteria, cell samples and fungi into novel forms of proteins that can serve as alternatives for dairy or lab-grown meat and fish. It has the potential to produce alternatives to livestock and dairy products that require less land and inputs.<\/p>\n
The lab-grown process is considered more sustainable since it uses less water and land to produce food and emits fewer greenhouse gases than a field of cows or barn full of chickens.<\/p>\n
And Canada has a plentiful supply of feedstock, particularly carbohydrates, starches, and sugars, which could be used for cell-based agriculture products.14<\/sup> (We currently dispose of leftover starches from peas after its proteins are used to make plant-based meats. This could instead be fed to specially bred micro-organisms such as yeast, which could then be used to make the proteins normally found in dairy products).<\/p>\nThe Challenges<\/b><\/p>\n
High upfront costs make starting a cellular agriculture company difficult. Investor education has also been a barrier. Aside from a few specialized investment firms, entrepreneurs say most investors don\u2019t sufficiently understand the nuances of food science to gauge the potential of the vertical. Funding amounts tend to be low, with shorter terms. Entrepreneurs say more patient capital is needed to grow their companies.<\/p>\n
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Canadian spotlight <\/b><\/p>\n
Cell Ag Tech<\/a> is an Ontario-based cellular agriculture startup developing cell-cultured seafood, with a current focus on lean white fish. Cell Ag Tech was recently announced as a winner in Canada\u2019s regional cellular agriculture competition, AcCELLerate-ON, for its work on scaling fish muscle stem cells in 2D and 3D. Earlier this year, Cell Ag Tech also entered into an agreement to collaborate with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine to develop a process for growing fish cells in bioreactors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Recommendations: Canada\u2019s time to lead<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nThe Next Green Revolution depends on both putting ready technologies to work and responsibly developing the game-changing innovations that will define the future. Though other nations are rapidly mobilizing their own resources to accomplish these goals, few are as well-positioned as Canada to lead.<\/p>\n
The following actions will be key to catalyzing the investment needed to scale the Transformative Seven, as well as remove key barriers to their adoption. In the next phases of our report series, we\u2019ll gain a better understanding of how technology (buttressed by policy) can be applied to support producers (especially small- and medium-sized farms), foster acceptance by consumers and be inclusive of all stakeholders.<\/p>\n
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Create a central funding body for research and development.<\/b> Many of the most promising and advanced areas of Canadian agricultural research don\u2019t fit within current funding categories. A more centralized system, operating in close partnership with academia and the private sector, such as in the United States Department of Agriculture, could develop a more holistic, nationwide view of where support and innovation is needed. The leadership shown by federal governments in creating the innovation super clusters provides a playbook for how Canada can super charge agri-food research and innovation.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Enable commercialization of existing research.<\/b> This will require increased funding for university tech transfer offices and programs. To unlock Canada\u2019s innate strengths in research and development, we need to make it easier for researchers to take their work to commercial market. This includes streamlining crop science regulations that currently require extensive (and expensive) trials, and have discouraged some from pursuing development in Canada.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Marry agriculture and technology programs in post-secondary schools.<\/b> Future food systems need more people with talents in data science, coding, and artificial intelligence\u2014many of whom are currently drawn to the software industry. Efforts to draw more of this talent should begin early. Re-branding agriculture as a \u201ccool\u201d career may require local governments and business improvement associations to re-brand rural communities as desirable places to live\u2014especially for immigrant populations with STEM skills. Collaboration with social scientists can ensure innovations are contextualized to the needs of farmers, accepted by consumers, and developed responsibly.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Create a Canadian Ag-Tech Silicon Valley.<\/b> This hub for breakthrough ag-tech innovation should enable cross-silo collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, communities, corporations and governments and carry the goal of incubating ideas and supporting the growth of start-ups and scale-ups. The hub should align public and private sector players around a common innovation ambition, focused on select priorities (such as the Transformative Seven technologies outlined above). An example of this is Rabobank\u2019s Foodbytes! initiative. It includes a startup program that provides food and ag-tech startups with mentorship, commercial partnership, and investment opportunities.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Create innovative tax and financial incentives to spur more private investment.<\/b> Accelerating private investment in Canadian ag-tech will mean thinking more creatively about the tax and financial incentives we have in place. We need to encourage the automation that will be key to our agricultural productivity and international competitiveness\u2014and that will draw more capital to the technologies that will drive the future of low emissions farming. Expanding accelerated depreciation beyond tangible assets to include artificial intelligence and other ag-techs is one possibility.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Develop a comprehensive and transparent view of ag-tech investments that is easily accessible.<\/b> This should include all of the innovation lifecycle. Data on private (venture capital and private equity) investment in startup companies is generally available except where funding rounds are not disclosed, but thorough data on business investment in agriculture R&D is difficult, if not impossible, to come by. The same can be said of ag-specific higher education R&D. Filling in these data gaps would give us a view of the technology landscape and help us understand where we need greater investment.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Build communities of early adopters among farmers.<\/b> Farmers listen to other farmers. Much of the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices has stemmed from farmers seeing the successes of others\u2014particularly those working with similar growing conditions. This helps ease farmers\u2019 uncertainty about the effectiveness of technologies without risking their own operations. Independent demonstration areas are also powerful tools to prove the effectiveness of emerging innovations. Much of this knowledge transfer used to be performed by publicly-funded and independent agriculture extension programs. More recently, private sector companies have invested heavily in applied research programs to help farmers get best possible results from their products.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Make it pay.<\/b> Forcing farmers to pay for emissions they already produce could add pressure to high food prices. A better approach is to compensate farmers for reducing them. Yet existing models like carbon credits are insufficient and place an unequal burden on the farmer. A national standard for measuring the impact of emissions-cutting activities, including a mechanism for measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) carbon stored in soils, could be critical to compensating farmers and to empowering policymakers and financial institutions to mobilize support. This standard\u2014also key to attracting investment\u2014will need to be designed and regulated on a national basis and aligned internationally with our major trading partners.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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