First for luxury restaurants
The US allows the sale of laboratory meat for the first time
06/22/2023, 02:15 am
Factory farming is one of the major drivers of climate change. Companies have high hopes for the in-vitro breeding of laboratory meat. Such products can now be sold in the USA. The first pieces of climate-friendly chicken will probably go to a select clientele.
US authorities have approved the sale of laboratory meat grown from cell cultures for the first time. Startups Upside Foods and Good Meat have been given a license to sell lab-grown chicken, the US Department of Agriculture confirmed. This is a first in the US.
“This approval will fundamentally change how meat gets on our table,” said Upside Foods founder and chef Uma Valeti. “It’s a huge step towards a more sustainable future – a future that preserves choice and lives.”
Good Meat boss Josh Tetrick said his company had been the only one in the world to sell lab meat since it was approved in Singapore in 2020. “And now it’s licensed to be sold to consumers in the world’s largest economy.”
Energy consumption is immense with laboratory meat
Upside Foods has already received its first order from French chef Dominique Crenn’s Bar Crenn restaurant in San Francisco, California. Good Meat, in turn, is working on a first production for the Spanish star chef José Andrés, who runs several restaurants in the US capital Washington, among other places.
Cell-culture lab meat provides animal protein without the hassles associated with factory farming and animal killing. It is not to be confused with plant-based alternatives such as soy burgers, which mimic the taste and texture of meat but contain no animal protein.
Global meat consumption is a driver of climate change – mainly because of the enormous land use for factory farming and the associated emissions of methane, among other things. Artificially produced meat from the laboratory, also called in-vitro meat, should remedy this, according to the proponents.
However, critics claim that the production of laboratory meat requires huge amounts of energy. They therefore question whether laboratory meat is really more environmentally friendly than conventional meat.