“No-kill” is not just an attainable goal for our nation’s animal shelters, it may very well become the new wave for cultivating animal protein — with potentially far-reaching impact.
To rave reviews, the first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets were served in a Singapore restaurant last month. The “chicken” was sourced from the cells of a live, free-range bird named “Ian” and created by Just Eat. The California start-up is one of several companies running a high-stakes race to get lab meat to market. Eventually, Just Eat hopes to offer a full range of cultured animal products including seafood and beef.
The chicken is made inside a 1,200-liter, energy-efficient bioreactor. Cells harvested from live chickens are combined with plant-based products to facilitate growth. The concoction is essentially “brewed” like beer. Ounce for ounce, the nutritive value of the finished product is comparable to “the real thing.” And, yes, it reportedly really does taste like chicken.
One feature of cultured chicken is not the same: cost. While it is currently more expensive, costs would decrease with an upscale in production and would ultimately be cheaper to produce and market, according to Just Eats.
For meat eaters, the advent of cultured meat could be just the impetus we need to change our eating habits, improve ours and our pet’s health and create a better, more humane world.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 80 billion animals were slaughtered last year for food. New lab technology eliminates the need to kill animals to obtain animal-based protein and would obliterate the inhumane practice of factory farming.
It would also obviate raising livestock to produce pet food, possibly cutting into at least some objections by animal rights groups that keeping pets perpetuates the demand for traditionally-farmed meats (though objections to keeping pets on the basis that we are stealing their freedom still stands in some circles).
Another advantage of cultured meat is that it is healthier for both humans and companion animals. Livestock can carry diseases such as swine and avian flu and strains of coronavirus. There is also the possibility of bacterial contamination from animal waste during processing. Additionally, lab-sourced meat products are free of hormones and antibiotics. Many animal advocates continue to recommend meat-based diets for pets, especially cats.
Finally, widespread production could effectively reduce the human impact on climate change. FAO estimates that livestock accounts for 14.5 percent of carbon emissions worldwide. Worldwatch Institute, a Washington D.C. environmental think-tank, puts the number at 51 percent. In his book, Billion Dollar Burger, Chase Purdy writes that, over the course of one year, two cows emit the equivalent in greenhouse gasses as one new car driven continuously over that period. To put that in perspective, there are currently 1.5 billion head of cattle in the world today.
Cultured meat carries an infinitely smaller carbon footprint than butchered meat. It is also more efficient to produce. According to a 2011 study published in Environmental Science and Technology, lab-sourced meat requires up to 99 percent less land use, cuts water use up to 96 percent and emits up to 96 percent fewer greenhouse gasses.
To continue production of cultured meat, we’d have to keep a few traditionally-farmed animals around as sources for cell harvesting — in free-range conditions, of course.
Some people will always object to the use of any product derived from animals. In my view, cultured meat would be a resounding triple-win for people, animals and the planet.