Marie Hawthorne

In case you've been hoping new foods like insects or lab-grown "meat" would go away on their own, lab-grown "chicken" has just been approved for sale by the USDA.  Two companies, Upside and Good Meat, will be producing their meat-like product for high-end restaurants soon. 

We wrote a few months ago about how consumers have not expressed interest in novel proteins.  People around the world just want meat.  However, this push to change our diet doesn't seem like it's going away, so let's first look at what this product actually is and why we're being told we should eat it.

What is “lab-grown meat?”

Lab-grown meat, which will be labeled in stores as “cell-cultivated,” is a highly processed product that mimics the taste and texture of real meat.  Proponents claim it will save the environment and end animal cruelty   The truth, however, is a little more complicated.

Scientists begin by taking cell samples, either from live animals or from stored cellular lines, and place them in a soup of amino acids, sugars, salts, and other compounds needed by the animal tissue to replicate.  In about three weeks, sheets of muscle tissue will be present in the fermentation tanks, and these are used to create dishes that look like they contain meat.

So, first of all, these are not vegan products.  Scientists are taking actual animal cells and forcing them to replicate.  Additionally, fetal bovine serum is one of the ingredients used in making these products.  Ever heard of fetal bovine serum?  It’s made with blood from calf fetuses. FBS is obtained by killing pregnant cows along with their calf fetuses, which means that not only is cell-cultivated meat not acceptable for vegans, but it’s also not acceptable for people that insist on humane animal husbandry.