Because, Animals to Unveil World's First Cultured Meat for PetsHarmless Hunt™ Mouse Cookies for Cats debut at SuperZoo Pet Trade Show

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Because, Animals, the only pet food company growing cultured meat for dogs and cats, announced today it has successfully completed the world's first cultured meat product for pets. Harmless Hunt™ Mouse Cookies for Cats with Cultured Meat made from cultured mouse, will be shown to the public at SuperZoo, one of the largest pet trade shows in the world, August 17-19 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

This achievement marks the world's first CPG product made with cultured meat as well as the first cookie for cats that includes the cat's native protein source — mouse. And not a single mouse was harmed.

The final feline-approved formula for Harmless Hunt™ Mouse Cookies for Cats includes cultured mouse blended with other nutritious and tasty cultured ingredients, such as tempeh, miso, nutritional yeast and more. "Taste tests" showed even finicky cats enjoyed the novel mouse protein treats – the species-appropriate, ancestral diet of the cat.

For photos, please visit the Because, Animals press kit.

"The public launch of Harmless Hunt is a milestone for us, for the cultured and alt-protein industry, for pet food, and for animals raised and slaughtered to feed cats and dogs," said Because, Animals co-founder and CEO Dr. Shannon Falconer. "We are finally able to provide pets with a healthier, safer, greener choice at a price that will be on par with other premium retail products."

Harmless Hunt™ Mouse Cookies for Cats are expected to be on the market in early 2022, barring any regulatory or governance hurdles, long before cultured meat for human consumption is commercially available. And the company is now taking pre-orders and getting ready to sell a limited batch at the end of the year.

Members of the media attending SuperZoo are invited to the launch event held by Because, Animals at booth 1650. Other Because, Animals products for cats and dogs will also be on display. To attend the event or schedule a private meeting, please RSVP to [email protected]

Because, Animals began developing cultured meat in 2016, and worked to reduce the cost by well over an order of magnitude, a key accomplishment on the road to commercial-scale production. This success also included the company's elimination of fetal bovine serum (FBS): a costly, scarce, animal-based ingredient derived from egregiously cruel slaughter practices, though still heavily used by other producers of cell-based meats. Because, Animals' proprietary, animal-free growth media blends vitamins, trace minerals, and growth factors to provide an environment for cell replication, at a far lower cost than FBS. For more information on the scientific process, please download the white paper "Cultured Meat: The Future of Pet Food".

By using mouse cells, Harmless Hunt™ avoids the most prevalent food allergens in pets — beef and poultry. Since it is produced in a sterile, controlled environment, it is free of antibiotics and pathogens, and contains no slaughterhouse by-products or rendered ingredients.

Cultured meat is safer and healthier for cats and dogs, better for the environment, and more humane than conventional products. In the United States alone, more than a quarter of the environmental effects of the animal agriculture industry are directly attributable to pet foods. In addition to reducing environmental harm, cultured meat requires no animals to be raised inhumanely for slaughter, and poses no risk to pets and public health through bacterial contamination, antibiotic resistance, or zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19.

About Because, Animals
Because, Animals, founded in 2016, is the first and only biotech company bringing clean cultured meat to the growing pet food market. Because, Animals begins with humanely harvested cells, nourished by inputs to multiply and grow, for pet foods that are safer, healthier, and more sustainable than any conventional factory farmed pet foods. Because, Animals has innovated a proprietary alternative to fetal bovine serum, a growth media ingredient inhumanely obtained from the slaughter of pregnant cows that is typically used to produce other cell-based meats. The company intends to release a limited batch of its first cultured meat products at the end of 2021.

Co-founders Shannon Falconer, who has a PhD in biochemistry and was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, and Joshua Errett, who worked in fintech after earning an MBA from Indiana University, both left their careers to start Because, Animals after meeting at a cat rescue charity. The company also offers a line of meat-free organic treats and healthy supplements for dogs and cats made from well-known cultured ingredients, probiotics and nutritional yeast. Investors include Orkla, Draper Associates, SOSV, Keen Growth Capital, and others.
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Media Contact

Leila Belcher, LJB Public Relations, +1 303-345-1805, [email protected]

SOURCE Because, Animals