The Future of Food: Insights Into the Economics and Commercial Viability of Lab-Grown Dairy

Abstract

In a world where sustainably developing is becoming increasingly essential, the role of lab-grown dairy has come to the fore. Revolutionary scientific developments have led scientists to create methods that can efficiently and sustainably produce a lab-grown dairy product that is chemically and structurally the same as cow milk. This milk, aside from having a range of health benefits, is far more sustainable from an environmental and economic standpoint, eliminating the need for an economically inefficient dairy industry, marred by large dairy farms, environmental degradation and a cumbersome and expensive supply-chain. Lab-grown milk is also likely to reach commercial viability given the anticipated consumer sentiment surrounding it – it has received positive reviews, as substantiated by media sources as well as a primary survey conducted by the authors. The industry has shown signs of growth in foreign markets, but its Indian pioneers must tread with caution, in a market where they are likely to encounter the behemoth that is Indian Bureaucracy, the likely spread of misinformation, and an economy greatly reliant on the dairy industry.Keeping this in mind, this review paper will explore the economics of lab-grown dairy, establishing why the dairy industry is economically unsustainable and allocatively inefficient. It will then delve into the current and future market of lab-grown dairy, concluding with some policy recommendations that could be employed to seamlessly implement this nascent and potentially revolutionary technology.

Keywords: Sustainability Economics, Sustainable Production, Genetic engineering, Non-dairy Substitutes for milk, Lab-grown dairy, Microeconomics, Business.

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-8-08

Publication date: April 30^th 2022