The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency in the United States, recently awarded the University of California, Davis with a $3.5 million grant for continued research in lab-grown meat research. The grant was awarded to the university’s Cultivated Meat Consortium—a group of scientists, engineers, educators, and entrepreneurs who have been dedicated to the development of sustainable cell-based meat.

David Block, PhD, principal investigator for the government-funded research program doesn’t see cultivated meat as replacing conventional agriculture, “but rather as adding more production and flexibility.”

“Potentially, if the conditions are right, farmers might find it advantageous to operate cultivated meat production alongside conventional agriculture, ”Block added.

The project, which will run over five years, aims to look at both “unstructured” products such as for sausage or burger patties and “structured” products that look and cook more like natural cuts of meat or fish.