Who Controls the Food, Controls the Future & Why BioManufacturing Is Now A National Security Issue For ANZ

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Source: CAA - PFN Ai Archives

Biomanufacturing, cheese and meat, isn’t just food innovation, it’s fast becoming a national security priority, and Australia and New Zealand risk falling behind as the world ferments the future without them.

In April, the U.S. National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology declared biomanufacturing a cornerstone of national security. Not just for food, but for medicine, materials, and supply chain resilience. China’s already locked in. Singapore’s scaling. Israel is innovating. The Netherlands are on the march. The U.S. is moving. Australia? New Zealand? Still sitting on a goldmine of talent and inputs, but without the policy to match.

Cellular Agriculture Australia’s new white paper “Producing Food Through Precision Fermentation” makes the national case. The ingredients exist in the form of clean feedstocks, world-class researchers, regulatory know-how, and startups ready to scale. What’s missing is decisive government action to convert this into sovereign infrastructure.

CAA CEO Sam Perkins puts it bluntly:“ We have all the puzzle pieces… but Government support is crucial. The window is finite.”

Source: PFN Ai Archives depicting precision fermentation whey powder and non-animal cheese

For New Zealand, the risk is even sharper. A small, export-reliant food economy built on dairy and red meat faces a global consumer shift. Countries are learning to feed themselves using fermentation, not farming. When Singapore can make its own milk proteins without a single cow, what happens to Fonterra’s future?

This isn’t hypothetical. It’s already happening. Multinationals are securing ingredient IP. Platforms are replacing pastures. Nations are scaling food inputs like critical infrastructure. The longer Australia and New Zealand delay, the harder it becomes to catch up and the likelier it is they'll end up importing innovation that could have been created by themselves.

You don’t need land, sun, or shipping routes to produce food anymore. You need IP, vats, and vision.

This is no longer about sustainability. It’s about sovereignty. The question isn’t if they join the bioeconomy. It’s whether they lead or license their food future back from those who stole the march.

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