What is lab-grown meat – and what is it not?

‘Lab meat’ is drawing investment all over the world. Can it solve the meat industry’s issues?

A view shows a cooked piece of cultivated chicken breast created at the UPSIDE Foods plant, where lab-grown meat is cultivated, in Emeryville, California, U.S. January 11, 2023
A cooked piece of cultivated chicken breast, created at the UPSIDE foods plant, Emeryville, California, US. January 11, 2023 [Peter DaSilva/Reuters]

‘Lab meat’ is popping up all over the world. Singapore was the first to introduce it to the public. The United States is now following suit with the Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval for lab-grown chicken. Governments and big companies are investing in and pushing laboratory-grown meat as the next big thing. Predictions are that if adopted, it could reduce methane, water and land use – all problems with industrial meat production. So how accurate are those predictions?

In this episode:

  • Julia Ranney, research associate at the US Center for Food Safety (@CFSTrueFood)
  • Phil Howard, community sustainability professor at Michigan State University

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Chloe K Li with Miranda Lin and our host, Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Andy Greiner and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers. 

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Source: Al Jazeera