The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given the green light to two California-based companies to sell lab-grown meats, making America the second country in the world to approve such products.
Upside Foods and Good Meat, which both received government clearance, can now legally sell chicken grown in metal vats to U.S. consumers.
“Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, operator of Good Meat.
Cultivated meat begins with cells. Upside experts take cells from live animals, choosing those most likely to taste good and to reproduce quickly and consistently, forming high-quality meat, Chen said. Good Meat products are created from a master cell bank formed from a commercially available chicken cell line.
Once the cell lines are selected, they’re combined with a broth-like mixture that includes the amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, salts, vitamins and other elements cells need to grow. Inside the tanks, called cultivators, the cells grow, proliferating quickly. At Upside, muscle and connective tissue cells grow together, forming large sheets. After about three weeks, the sheets of poultry cells are removed from the tanks and formed into cutlets, sausages or other foods. Good Meat cells grow into large masses, which are shaped into a range of meat products. (9&10 News)
Would you eat chicken meat made in a lab? Now, you can.
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 22, 2023
The U.S. approved its sale on Wednesday, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to restaurants and eventually, supermarkets. Here’s how it’s made. https://t.co/LeNjh4vvbk pic.twitter.com/iCs3QHud8e
The cultivated meats won’t hit grocery store shelves anytime soon, because the products can’t be produced on a massive scale yet and are also much more expensive than traditional meat.
Upside has partnered with a San Francisco restaurant and Good Meat will be sold by a Washington, D.C., spot owned and operated by Jose Andrés.
Amy Chen, Upside’s chief operating officer, acknowledged one major obstacle in the U.S. market is the “ick factor.”
Indeed, polling shows half of U.S. adults aren’t exactly jumping at the opportunity to try lab-grown meat because “it just sounds weird,” while half said they question its safety.
Chen is confident, however, that once people understand the process and taste it, they’ll change their minds.
“It is the meat that you’ve always known and loved,” she claimed.
But others disagree.
"Lab Grown meat is a danger to both our food system and our economy," said chef and Food Network star Andrew Gruel on Twitter. "The energy required for production is outrageous - it can only survive on government subsidies. It’s full of additives and doesn’t mimic the healthful qualities of meat at all. Scary stuff."
Italy, meanwhile, is looking to ban lab-grown meat.