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Shojinmeat Project

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Shojinmeat Project
FoundedFebruary 2014[1]
FounderYuki Hanyu
Legal statusNon-profit
Location
FieldCultured meat
WebsiteOfficial website (in English)
Official website (in Japanese)

The Shojinmeat Project[a] is a citizen science movement,[6] loosely-structured[7] non-profit organization,[8] and art project about cultured meat, a subset of cellular agriculture. Their approach to developing and popularizing cultured meat has been noted as unique from efforts in the field before it, in that it envisions cultured meat as something that can be made at home with a process understood by its consumer,[9][10] analogous to home brewing.[11] The Shojinmeat Project was created in Japan by Yuki Hanyu (Japanese: 羽生 雄毅),[12][13] but has become an internationally collaborative effort welcoming a variety of talent.[2] [14]

The shōjin of Shojinmeat's name (Japanese: 精進)[15][8] is a Japanese Buddhist term, meaning "devotion" to the path to Nirvana. Hanyu is not a Buddhist, but views the resource-intensive methods required for livestock meat such as deforestation as contrary to this path to Nirvana,[16] and named Shojinmeat in tribute to the devotion required to follow that path successfully.[12] The term is also part of shōjin ryōri, meaning "devotion cooking",[17] the diet eaten by monks under the precept of not eating anything able to "run away when chased";[18] which has excluded nearly all kinds of animal-based meat until, arguably, the invention of cultured meat.[19][20]

History

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In February 2014, Yuki Hanyu had held a PhD. in Chemistry[13] and worked as a system engineer for Toshiba when he decided to apply his knowledge to some form of futuristic technology, having been interested in science fiction since childhood. Among other choices like space travel and energy, he chose cultured meat because of what he saw as a current global need,[12] and determined a "do-it-yourself" community to be convenient in the effort to bring this newly emergent technology's cost down to an popularly accessible level. [7]

His first partners in this project were obtained at an "informal coworking space in Tokyo" called Lab Café[8] after he had asked for those skilled in cell culture to help him theorize how meat could be grown on Mars.[21] It was here that Ikko Kawashima, future co-founder of IntegriCulture, joined the team.[1]

The Shojinmeat Project has no formal definition of membership, though in 2020, Hanyu reckoned it to have between 20 and 30 active members. Official Slack channels existed in Japanese and English for online collaboration.[21][22]

Content

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Education

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The Shojinmeat Project is involved in educating the general public about cultured meat,[10] that is adults as well as children.[16] They have written manuals about the science behind cultured meat[23] as well as how it can be produced by individuals outside the setting of a business or laboratory.[24] They have conveyed such information, also, through public presentations at schools[21][7] and academic conferences.[1]

Hanyu believes education and DIY is necessary to avoid cellular agriculture falling into corporate monopoly and, by extension, a further point of public controversy. He views the history of genetically modified organisms as a cautionary tale,[16] and in an interview with Hive Life, stated that:[10]

Instead, we’re building an open process where academic and scientific knowledge goes to the people rather than straight to the business to scale and deliver. This means that citizens and game players such as farmers, butchers, and chefs can get involved with hands-on experience, set the direction, decide on what meat should be like, and make society-wide agreements.

Fine Art

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Hanyu's love of science fiction media that's served as an impetus[25] and inspiration in this venture[1] is something he believes can also work to the benefit of developing personal interest in others for what Shojinmeat teaches. [10]

Thus, the Shojinmeat Project has spawned a loose gallery of artwork conveying visions of a future with cultured meat. The original characters Miyo and Aco feature in these works,[9] showcasing futuristic cultured meat technologies in places such as on Mars[26] and underwater. An explorable VRChat environment of a cultured meat facility on Mars was created for Shojinmeat,[27] and at least one fanzine associated with Shojinmeat has been sold at Comiket.[1]

Collaboration

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IntegriCulture Inc., a for-profit entity also founded by Yuki Hanyu, was registered in 2015 initially "as a vehicle to gain access to lab equipment" for Shojinmeat,[1] and it's operations continued to overlap with Shojinmeat's past the 2010s.[21] Shojinmeat has been the subject of a 20-minute spot on NHK's News at 5 [ja][28] and of several interviews of Hanyu, primarily in the alternative protein space. This includes one by New Harvest,[8] with whom Shojinmeat has been featured in events and work,[16][29] stemming from them, as well as the Good Food Institute, being in contact and collaboration since 2015.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ Officially styled in Japanese the same as in English, with Latin letters.[3][4][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Hanyu, Yuki (September 7, 2021). "The Shojinmeat Project Inside Story". Protein Report. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Get Involved". Shojinmeat Project. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "プロジェクト" [Project]. Shojinmeat Project (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Shojinmeat Project". Shojinmeat Project. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  5. ^ 目指すのは「誰でも食文化をつくれる未来」。培養肉ベンチャーが描く未来. advanced by massmedian. December 12, 2024. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Fong, Cherise (21 November 2017). "Shojinmeat wants to grow meat like we brew beer". Makery. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Alex Shirazi (July 3, 2019). "Dr. Yuki Hanyu of IntegriCulture". Cultured Meat & Future Food Show (Podcast). Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Kim, Erin (October 4, 2021). "Getting to Know... Yuki Hanyu of the Shojinmeat Project". New Harvest. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Carter, Charles (15 September 2020). "Homebrew meat club: Japanese sci-fi inspires open source cell agriculture". Engineering and Technology. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d Yip, Myra (September 15, 2020). "Shojinmeat Project: The Non-Profit Making Cell-Based Meat Accessible". Hive Life. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  11. ^ Albrecht, Chris (April 16, 2018). "Shojinmeat is Growing a DIY Clean Meat Community". The Spoon. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Tim Romero (April 24, 2017). "These Japanese Bio-Hackers Are Growing Affordable Meat in A Lab – Shojinmeat". Disrupting Japan (Podcast). Disrupting Japan. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "About us". IntegriCulture Inc. (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "About us". Shojinmeat Project. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  15. ^ "Definition of 精進". JapanDict. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d Purdy, Chase (October 16, 2017). "Japan's Shojinmeat Project takes a novel approach to lab-grown meat". Quartz. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  17. ^ Way, Simon (May 8, 2023). "What Is Shojin Ryori? A Guide to Traditional Japanese Vegan Cuisine". Japanese Taste. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Ito, Alina Joan (December 13, 2023). "The Beginner's Guide to Shojin Ryori". Tokyo Weekender. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "Lab grown meat: how it is made and what are the pros and cons". The European Food Information Council. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  20. ^ Melzener, Lea; Verzijden, Karin E; Buijs, A Jasmin; Post, Mark J; Flack, Joshua E (13 July 2020). "Cultured beef: from small biopsy to substantial quantity". Science of Food and Agriculture: 10 – via Wiley Online Library. Assuming that the biopsy will be taken with a needle, the discomfort for the animal will likely not be greater than the taking of a blood sample, whilst in case of an incision biopsy, the level of discomfort will likely be greater, although still not substantial.
  21. ^ a b c d Ulara Nakagawa (August 3, 2020). "This Sci-Fi Inspired Japanese Startup is Taking Lab-Grown Meat Mainstream. Here's how - Integriculture and Shojin Meat Projects's Yuki Hanyu". After Animals (Podcast). Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Van Der Walt, Jayson (February 7, 2018). "Announcement: English Slack Channel for the Shojinmeat Project". Medium.
  23. ^ DIY Cell-based meat: Roadmap & manual, February 3, 2020, retrieved May 17, 2024 – via SlideShare
  24. ^ Samantaray, Sunayana (October 2, 2020). "Shojinmeat Project: Helping citizens grow DIY cell-based meat". The Vegan Review. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  25. ^ Carter, Charles (October 2020). "Homebrew meat club: 'Clean meat' start-ups are mushrooming. But Japanese citizen science community Shojinmeat is using an alternative home-based DIY approach to accelerate innovation". Engineering & Technology. 15 (9). IET: 66–67. doi:10.1049/et.2020.0912. ISSN 1750-9637 – via IEEE. I STARTED THIS whole thing because of science fiction," says Dr Yuki Hanyu, co-founder of non-profit cultured-meat collective Shojinmeat. "Cell-based meat happens everywhere in manga and anime sci-fi.
  26. ^ "Mars cultured meat plant "Shojinmeat Nirvana-Alpha" VR tour". waradogatansakuchu. February 23, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2024 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ "培養肉工場 Cultured meat factory Shojinmeat Nirvana Delta Mars". VRChat. January 25, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  28. ^ がんばれ～人工肉開発進む！ [Make it big: cultivated meat improves!]. FC2 Video (video) (in Japanese). MOMOVEGAN. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  29. ^ Hanyu, Yuki (May 11, 2020). "Shojinmeat Project presentation on "What will farmers do with cell-based meat?" for New Harvest 2020". YouTube. AnimeScience MasterVision. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
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