FDA Approves Cultured Meat Start-ups
Photo from Victor De Schwanberg / Science Source
Edited by Yujin Tchun
In December 2020, Singapore became the first country ever to allow lab-grown meat to be commercially sold. Now as of 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved cultured meat for the first time, opening up doors for companies such as Upside Foods to finally sell their cultured meat to the public. Up until now, only a few have had the chance to try cultured meat, yet having to sign a waiver prior to recognizing that the meat at the time was experimental. There is a diverse range of cultivated meats that could end up on shelves soon, such as beef, chicken, salmon, and tuna just to name a few. However, due to the limited supply, it's expected that cultivated meats will only be limited to be available in particular restaurants as companies find ways to scale up.
Cultivated meats are plant-based, and contain animal cells, thus never having to kill an animal for their meat, and (hopefully) ending up tasting and feeling like real meat. According to Future Meat Technologies, cultured food will take up to 99% less land, 86% less freshwater, and emit 80% less greenhouse gases, than current meat production facilities, while MosaMeat has said that they produce 96% lower greenhouse gas emissions. No matter the specific statistic, it is clear that cultured meats have a large positive impact on the environment than traditional meat production methods. Hence for those who are vegan trying to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions or to prevent the slaughtering of animals for food, these would optimistically become options for them, but not only that, this has the capability to slow global warming and become the food of the future.
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