The world’s first cultivated meat farm opens in the Netherlands
The project marks the first time a livestock farmer has received agricultural funding to produce cultivated meat.
NETHERLANDS – A Dutch farmer has become the first in the world to receive public agricultural funding to produce cultivated meat, following the installation of a pilot production unit on his farm in South Holland.
His participation comes through a project led by systems integration firm RespectFarms, which has installed the facility at Corné van Leeuwen’s existing dairy operation to test whether cellular agriculture can operate within a conventional livestock setting.
The cultivated meat units are expected to begin running in the coming weeks, creating a real-world demonstration of how farmers could incorporate these technologies without abandoning their current activities.
The pilot is financed through the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability and support from the South Holland provincial government, both of which provide funds valued at roughly US$2.17 million.
RespectFarms co-founder Ira van Eelen said the intention is to keep farmers involved in protein production while opening a path for cellular agriculture to develop alongside established farming models.
Van Leeuwen said his family’s long history of adopting new tools encouraged him to explore whether cultivated meat could fit with dairy production and create an additional revenue stream amid changing market conditions.
RespectFarms has argued that this approach could let farmers produce more meat with fewer animals, reducing the need for slaughter and limiting exposure to disease risks that can threaten herds and, in some cases, public health.
Co-founder Ralf Becks said the aim is to prove the model at farm scale before offering it to others interested in testing the concept.
This pilot arrives as debates across Europe continue over the implications of cultivated meat, with opponents often claiming that farmers will lose out if the technology advances further.
However, several farmer groups have publicly rejected proposals to restrict the sector, saying their concerns center more on market concentration and the effects on rural livelihoods than on direct economic competition.
Consumer organisation Euroconsumers has also pointed to survey data showing that Europeans tend to trust farmers more than private companies regarding the safety of cultivated meat.
The project partners say this makes public involvement essential, and the South Holland government has positioned its support as part of a strategy to develop new food technologies within the region.
RespectFarms is working with Wageningen University and multiple cellular agriculture companies through the Craft consortium, which received approximately US$2.17 million in EU-backed funding to advance the pilot.
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