Florida’s ban on 'lab-grown' meat is now being challenged in federal court (2024)

FAQs

What is the public opinion on lab-grown meat? ›

Lab-grown meat (LGM) is viewed negatively on all attributes except animal friendliness. Around one-quarter of consumers indicate a willingness to eat LG chicken and beef.

Lab-grown meat is not currently available in any U.S. grocery stores or restaurants. If some lawmakers have their way, it never will be.

Lab-grown meat is also expensive. Per-unit costs are presently significantly higher than the traditional alternative—according to one analysis, lab-grown beef may be eight times as expensive to produce—although they have plummeted since the first lab-grown burger a decade ago.

Bans on cell-cultivated, “lab-grown” meat are about protecting Big Ag. Kenny Torrella is a senior reporter for Vox's Future Perfect section, with a focus on animal welfare and the future of meat. Last week, Florida became the first US state to ban the production and sale of lab-grown, or “cell-cultivated” meat.

Here are the facts: All of our burger patties in the U.S. are always made with 100% USDA-inspected beef. That's the only ingredient: 100% real beef. Our patties contain no preservatives or fillers, and the only thing we ever add is a touch of salt and pepper when the patties are sizzling hot on the grill.

Cultivated meat is not necessarily good for the environment.

It's true that the traditional methods of bringing meat to market drive irreversible climate change, but lab-grown meat presents a slightly different problem: it sucks up a massive amount of energy.

When the products do hit supermarket shelves, Chen says, “they will actually bear the stamp and seal that you expect on a piece of meat”: a little round tag certifying USDA inspection. The labels will also include the prefix “cell-cultured” to distinguish the meat from conventional barnyard fare.

Upside Foods is serving its cultivated chicken at Dominique Crenn's Bar Crenn in San Francisco, while Good Meat will soon serve its cultivated chicken at China Chilcano, a restaurant by José Andrés in Washington D.C.

Ask the server or restaurant owner where they source the chicken for their dishes. You can be as specific as to ask if the chicken is organically or conventionally raised or lab-grown. Still, it is critical to note again: Restaurants do not have to disclose where they get their meat or if their meat is lab-grown.

Lab-Grown Meat Approved for Sale: What You Need to Know

At room temperature, the meat they grew didn't have much of a flavour. But when heated to 150 °C, it produced compounds associated with savoury, fruity and meaty flavours.

Who invented lab-grown meat? ›

In the 1950s, Dutch researcher Willem van Eelen independently came up with the idea for cultured meat.

Because cultivated meat is taken from real animal cells, it is not technically vegan. But that said, because it's slaughter-free, some vegans have said they'd be open to consuming it.

However, since keeping animals off our plates has always been a cornerstone of PETA's philosophy, we support creating meat through new technology, rather than continuing to rely on cruel and destructive factory farms and slaughterhouses.

Our feelings of disgust are, in part, born from potential exposure to disease or contamination, risks that are often highest when consuming animal products. This makes the introduction of unfamiliar meat products a tougher sell than other novel food sources, such as plant-based alternatives.

Chemical contaminants could still potentially be present in the cell culture due to a lack of quality control process, such as using non-deionized or filtered water, or not using filtered air of CO2, but this would likely result in a spoiled culture medium rather than posing a risk to the consumer.

Cultivated meat will increase access to food and, as a result, can potentially reduce world hunger. Cultivated meat uses a fraction of the natural resources used by conventional meat and does not require the raising or slaughtering animals because sourced cells grow indefinitely.

Lab-grown meat allows the production of food from animal cells, removing the environmental and ethical concerns related to livestock. Italy's move to ban the products been praised by Italian agricultural groups, keen to protect the country's €9.3 billion ($10.1 billion) meat-processing industry.

For some vegans, cultivated meat may cross an ethical line because it still relies on animal cells and byproducts. However, other vegans argue that if cultivated meat can replace the demand for conventionally-produced meat and mitigate the suffering of billions of animals, it should be considered vegan.

Scientists carefully screen and confirm that cells used in cultivated meat are free of infectious pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and other microbes. Is cruelty-free: Cultivated meat also provides a cruelty-free way to enjoy animal protein.