--- --- # Sustainable Innovation: Reshaping Singapore's Culinary Scene through Alternative Meat  Hungry from a day of exploring Singapore, there is nothing more satisfying than discovering new tastes from a bustling stall in a local hawker center. As locals and tourists tuck into old favorites – Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nasi Biryani made with chicken or mutton, or Udang Masak Nanas a traditional Malay-style hot and sour prawn dish – there is a very real possibility that these traditional recipes may be served with cell-based meat and seafood technology in the near future. The alternative meat industry in Singapore is a growing sector that is gaining popularity among consumers looking for plant-based or lab-grown meat products as a more sustainable and ethical alternative to traditional animal-based meat. Singapore's government has shown its support and initiatives such as the ‘30 by 30’ plan which aims to produce 30% of Singapore's nutritional needs locally by 2030\. A key element of this strategy is the development of the alternative meat industry as a way to reduce Singapore's reliance on imported food products, a necessity due to the lack of sufficient land area and natural resources available as a small nation island. Singapore has become a hub for the alternative protein industry in Asia, with several companies developing and producing plant-based and lab-grown meat products. One of the most well-known companies is Shiok Meats, which is focused on producing lab-grown seafood products.  Shiok Meats is a Singapore-based startup company founded in 2018 by Dr. Sandhya Sriram and Dr. Ka Yi Ling, who are both marine biologists with a passion for sustainable food production. The flagship product is lab-grown shrimp, which is produced using cellular agriculture techniques. This allows for the production of sustainable and ethical seafood products that do not require the use of antibiotics, hormones, or harmful fishing practices. In an interview with TIME, Durgalakshmi Sathiakumar, Group COO of Shiok Meats explains more, “Alternative proteins, including Shiok Meats’ cultivated crustaceans, bypass the main struggle that Singapore has, which is the limited land and resources as a small country. Our production of cultivated crustaceans requires less land and water while producing less carbon emissions, which allows us to contribute towards meeting Singapore’s food demand in a sustainable manner. This highlights that the immense potential of the alternative protein market as one of the solutions to achieve food self-sufficiency for the population while having less worries about the environmental impact of the food produced.”  Both Eat Just, a Californian-based food tech company, and Singapore made history in December 2020 when the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) became the first regulatory authority in the world to approve the sale of cultured meat, specifically Eat Just's lab-grown chicken nuggets. The decision was a major milestone for both the city-state and the cell-based meat industry as a whole, and marked a significant step towards sustainable and ethical meat production. The nuggets, which are made from animal cells grown in a bioreactor, were available to try at 1880, a members-only club located in Singapore's central business district. These alternatives have become even more accessible in recent years. Huber’s Butchery, one of Singapore’s premier producers and suppliers of high-quality meat products, is the first butchery in the world to sell and serve cultivated meat in partnership with GOOD Meat, an American food tech company. An exciting addition to Singapore’s dining scene, visitors can now taste the cultivated chicken at Huber’s Bistro, the family-owned sister restaurant to the popular butcher.  The partnership between GOOD Meat and Huber's Butchery is an exciting development for the future of food production and consumption, and highlights the potential for collaboration between traditional food businesses and innovative food tech companies. Sathiakumar explains how to explore the world of sustainable food and protein alternatives firsthand when visiting Singapore, “Tourists can visit several urban farms in Singapore to reconnect with nature and learn more about food sustainability. For tourists that enjoy museum walks and tours, Marina Barrage's Sustainable Singapore Gallery also has an exhibition that covers the main sustainability issues faced by Singapore, including water supplies and food waste." He adds, "Tourists interested in trying cultivated meats will be excited to visit Singapore because, in the entire world, only Good Meat’s cultivated chicken has been approved for human consumption. While Shiok Meats would love to let you try our cultivated crustaceans, we are working closely with the Singapore Food Agency on regulatory approval to produce our cultivated crustaceans for the mass market.”  The approval of cultured meat in Singapore is seen as a significant milestone in developing this technology and reflects Singapore's commitment to promoting sustainable and innovative food production practices. With the support of the government and growing demand from consumers, Singapore is poised to continue its growth and goal of achieving greater food security and sustainability. Want to try for yourself? Here’s where you can sample alternative meat creations while visiting Singapore: * **Happiee:** plant-based chicken, fish and crab available at multiple restaurants including Cafe Iguana and Orange & Teal * **Heura Foods:** vegan soy-based chicken strips available at multiple restaurants including Prive and Empress * **Love Handle:** Asia’s first plant-based butcher with the largest curation of plant-based meats, dairy, and condiments [](https://jadserve.postrelease.com/trk?ntv%5Fat=4&ntv%5Fui=449dead5-eb86-463f-a851-3bd1e9d21368&ntv%5Fa=i2MIAMYBeAtV4SA&ntv%5Ffl=H8%5FNIX%5FfVs0Ik5QLWe2EYHNVaVl9Z%5FoPpSo7HNtthPuxnPMUinohHwEZVsC%5FKIvoC3marVAe04PLsb5gW1Ehsf%5Fl0qLRhx5oola1Ft7j8iwUsTOp8FSO9ZkZZpvUWycnD0OglZ8c%5FvbQBclaq5ZAXXUmc4wpv8hUYVU-psWP2OY5zksKXu8lup1JApV2zrc54oE2FRUqWNyWba8gP4naNRF6Es-q2QB1%5FJI57kjjC5l3d9OG3OD4Eicvz8EAWKXGR5prxHrE6rH3PYyYafFkiFySh%5FN2M6Z8T%5FVPk5CtjBNNK1Aldqc0GT78tHxLlSRMbRy9HcYpsmzHgDGv6c7YdqeAUE2XOwl0vTzRxpPEy3RmEm%5FfjWw5nvHxAq5mjKAHHPwAcyqM5q1YbFdsFM6mx74CO9j83tDpAavDQLODsS2qqTee9jzZl%5F2wqFbXyw0zqFjayQNcRQZW6Kya8lF%5FqbG5FULR2kNHi2fB9LL595Xq9tJourhi5QKY7P2JkiwPoAg9BXWQQ4x4WD1Cej8sbYW%5FTJawGO4ICP3Pp0DfFFBFy1AID%5Fjx-pdORqGf5nfgqO44vHMNMzAKm3ZG0IHrNA==&ord=513015737&ntv%5Fht=-o8JagA) Singapore is more than its tourist attractions. It’s constantly evolving, reinventing, and reimagining itself, with people who are passionate about creating new possibilities. It’s not just about what you can do here, it’s about what you can be. [Find Out More](https://jadserve.postrelease.com/trk?ntv%5Fat=4&ntv%5Fui=449dead5-eb86-463f-a851-3bd1e9d21368&ntv%5Fa=i2MIAMYBeAtV4SA&ntv%5Ffl=H8%5FNIX%5FfVs0Ik5QLWe2EYHNVaVl9Z%5FoPpSo7HNtthPuxnPMUinohHwEZVsC%5FKIvoC3marVAe04PLsb5gW1Ehsf%5Fl0qLRhx5oola1Ft7j8iwUsTOp8FSO9ZkZZpvUWycnD0OglZ8c%5FvbQBclaq5ZAXXUmc4wpv8hUYVU-psWP2OY5zksKXu8lup1JApV2zrc54oE2FRUqWNyWba8gP4naNRF6Es-q2QB1%5FJI57kjjC5l3d9OG3OD4Eicvz8EAWKXGR5prxHrE6rH3PYyYafFkiFySh%5FN2M6Z8T%5FVPk5CtjBNNK1Aldqc0GT78tHxLlSRMbRy9HcYpsmzHgDGv6c7YdqeAUE2XOwl0vTzRxpPEy3RmEm%5FfjWw5nvHxAq5mjKAHHPwAcyqM5q1YbFdsFM6mx74CO9j83tDpAavDQLODsS2qqTee9jzZl%5F2wqFbXyw0zqFjayQNcRQZW6Kya8lF%5FqbG5FULR2kNHi2fB9LL595Xq9tJourhi5QKY7P2JkiwPoAg9BXWQQ4x4WD1Cej8sbYW%5FTJawGO4ICP3Pp0DfFFBFy1AID%5Fjx-pdORqGf5nfgqO44vHMNMzAKm3ZG0IHrNA==&ord=513015737&ntv%5Fht=-o8JagA) Sustainable Innovation: Reshaping Singapore's Culinary Scene through Alternative Meat ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/singapore-tourism-board/sustainable-innovation-reshaping-singapores-culinary-scene-through-alternative/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/singapore-tourism-board/sustainable-innovation-reshaping-singapores-culinary-scene-through-alternative/"},"headline":"Sustainable Innovation: Reshaping Singapore's Culinary Scene through Alternative Meat","datePublished":"2026-06-18T14:28:49.522Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T07:28:09.566Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/singapore-tourism-board/sustainable-innovation-reshaping-singapores-culinary-scene-through-alternative/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/singapore-tourism-board/sustainable-innovation-reshaping-singapores-culinary-scene-through-alternative/","name":"Sustainable Innovation: Reshaping Singapore's Culinary Scene through Alternative Meat"}}]}] ```