To celebrate the launch of the new book, Cultivated Meat to Secure Our Future: Hope for Animals, Food Security, and the Environment, two leaders in cellular agriculture joined Compassion’s Global CEO, Philip Lymbery, for a discussion of this emerging field on Wednesday evening.

Ira van Eelen, co-founder and CEO of KindEarth.Tech, who provided the foreword for the book, described how she was inspired by her father Willem van Eelen, the “godfather of cultivated meat” and continues to work tirelessly to fulfill his vision of cultivated meat becoming a part of our daily lives.

Isha Datar, Executive Director of New Harvest, who contributed a chapter for the book, described some of the regulatory and marketing hurdles faced by this new industry and offered hope for these new products being widely available by 2040.

The distinguished guests met challenging questions head on, such as the use of fetal bovine serum –blood from unborn calves – in cellular ag research, which Ira notes attracts unparalleled controversy not experienced by other areas which exploit animals such as the medical field.

Despite being the head of a leading cultivated meat research institute, Isha opened up that she would be quite happy for cultivated meat to be left out of the equation for fighting the world’s increasing challenges, if it meant that the challenges, such as climate change and over-reliance of animal products, were addressed directly.

Ira remarked that speaking with individuals that feel threatened by cultivated meat is all about treating them with respect—meeting people where they are, which is a central part of Compassion in World Farming’s theory of change.

If you weren’t able to join the event live on Wednesday, don’t despair, the recording will live on Compassion USA’s Facebook page, so you can watch it anytime here.