Written by: Allison Penner

‘Cultivated meat’ is the relatively new field of creating authentic meat. Yet, unlike conventional growing practices, cultivated meat is grown outside of an animal, in a lab. Lab-based technologies have been used for years in other scientific fields, but only recently have these techniques been adopted for widespread use of creating animal protein. 

Production methods of clean meat vary by the different researchers and companies working on them - and research is continually evolving. Generally, the process begins with starting cells, which are often derived from an animal. These cells are carefully grown to ensure their viability and endurance. As the animal cells multiply, divide and rearrange , complex products like chicken breasts or burgers can be produced. To learn more about the scientific process, check out the Good Food Institute’s video and blog post.

Cultivated meat made its debut on the world stage when Professor Mark Post, along with a food writer and nutritional researcher, ate the world’s first cultured burger at a live event in 2013. Globally, it instigated researchers and companies to create products of their own - leading to cellular agricultural approaches for leather, pet foods, beef and many other products. Mark now works for Mosa Meat, a company focused on the commercial availability of clean meat products at global scales. See a short video about Mark’s motivation and the event here.

As it currently stands, animal agriculture is rife with environmental externalities. It requires a massive amount of resources to raise an animal to the point where it can be slaughtered, and the process often results in the release of climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions. The resource-intensity of animal agriculture also brings into question issues surrounding inefficiencies in the food chain. For instance, this study demonstrates that the ‘opportunity food loss’ (i.e., the food loss associated with consuming resource-intensive animal products instead of nutritionally comparable plant-based alternatives) of eggs is 40% and beef is a whopping 96%. Globally, as meat consumption is continues to grow, the externalities and risk to food security must also be addressed. Early studies demonstrate that significantly less resources are needed to create cultivated meat, and the process is expected to become more efficient with increased innovation.

Though cultivated meat is in many ways, the same product as conventionally grown meat, it has a few key health advantages. Cultured meat is produced in a sterile environment, free from fecal bacteria and other pathogens that cause common food-borne illnesses, such as E.coli, salmonella and toxoplasma. This study demonstrates that even after thorough cleaning, conventionally-produced chicken remained covered in fecal bacteria, which can pose a threat to human health.

Antimicrobial resistance is also a growing concern. More and more antibiotics are being fed to animals, which is causing the emergence of ‘superbugs’ that are becoming resistant to medicine. This approach risks additional bacterial diseases becoming resistant to current health practices. 

As global rates of meat consumption increase each year, more animals are subject to the animal agriculture industry. To put this in perspective, in Canada alone, 834 million animals were slaughtered in 2019. Often these animals are subject to confined spaces, a lack of legal protection, poor treatment and, of course, slaughter. With growing knowledge on the sentience of non-human animals, these practices lead to the abuse and pain of fully feeling beings. Cultivated meat can provide the same products without the need to slaughter animals.

As I have continued to learn about clean meat, here are a few key resources I have found helpful.

Clean Meat by Paul Shapiro

The book provides a great overview of clean meat from how it’s made to the major players involved. It also gets into the key discussion of what name is best to address the field.

This nonprofit is one of the largest organizations in the clean meat sphere. It supports scientists, entrepreneurs and investors in making these products a reality. Their website and associated publications talk about all different aspects of the process from its regulations to current developments in technology.

Eat for the Planet, Nil Zacharias

Nil hosts a fascinating podcast on a wide range of food topics, but has many interesting episodes specifically dedicated to the topic of cultivated meat. Check out this episode of Bruce Friedman from the Good Food Institute or this interview with Turtletree labs on cell-based milk.