She’s cultivating a healthier braai culture in South Africa with lab-grown meat

Tasneem Karodia is cooking up eco-friendly meat from a petri dish. “The future of food is now,” she says. Meat forms a major part of South African cuisine and many cultures enjoy braaing, the tradition of grilling meat on an open fire. But at 16 years old, Karodia stopped eating it completely. “I cut meat out of my diet for sustainability reasons,” she says. “Current industrial and agricultural processes are quite inefficient and are unsustainable for the environment.” After years of researching alternative options, Karodia co-founded Mzansi Meat, the first cultivated meat company in Africa.

“I want to ensure food security for generations to come,” she says. While working as a chartered accountant, Karodia felt a growing urge to bring about social change by inspiring people to consume more responsibly. After leaving her job, she established Mzansi Meat and entered the field of biotech to collaborate with scientists and other entrepreneurs. “We’ve been cultivating animal tissues to produce meat that is more sustainable and ethical,” she says. By changing the system in which food is produced, Karodia is positively affecting the environment as well as the animals who depend on it. Producing cultivated meat requires significantly less resources and energy with up to 99% less land use and 96% lower emissions and water usage in comparison to farming and factory operations. While it reduces the strain on the environment, it also gives animals the opportunity to lead freer and healthier lives. Karodia’s company partners with registered state veterinarians to extract muscle and fat cells from the tissue of animals without having to slaughter them. Once cultivated, these cells are fed nutrients so that it can grow, eventually mimicking the texture and moisture of meat.

“I'm proud to have contributed to Mzansi’s diverse table of flavours,” Karodia says. Operating from BIOCiTi Labs in Woodstock, Cape Town, she and her team are setting the stage for cellular agriculture. Karodia is integrating African flavours with unconventional engineering, ultimately propelling the continent to the forefront of sustainable technology. “Scientists and chefs now have a new innovative way to collaborate together to ensure we have better food for the braai,” she says.