My Thoughts on Lab Grown Meat

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The same company responsible for Just Egg is providing a private club in Singapore with the opportunity to be the first consumers of lab grown chicken. Club 1880 in Singapore will receive the product and serve it to guests on December 19th, after being selected for sharing similar values to the founding company, Eat Just. The guests were also individually selected based on their supposed commitments to "making the world a better place." This will mark the very first time cultured meat is being served in a restaurant / club. Does lab grown meat spell the end of factory farming? 

HOW IS LAB GROWN MEAT MADE?

Lab grown meat starts with the extraction of cells from animals that are then placed in petri dishes where they can multiply and grow. Eventually, after much tending to and caring for, the cells grow until they have formed a replicated piece of meat. This process reportedly reduces the amount of land used for the same piece of meat by 99%, the amount of energy by 45%, and the amount of greenhouse gases by 96%. I wasn't able to locate enough information about how these cells are obtained and whether this process harms living animals or not, so I can't confidently say whether it is cruelty free but one would assume it would be significantly better for animals than the abhorrent conditions on factory farms.

Will lab grown meat reduce the need for factory farming ultimately leading to less greenhouses gases and less animals being rapidly slaughtered? In the long run, I want to say yes but as of now, the process to create this meat is lengthy and extremely expensive so I don't see it replacing factory farming any time soon. There's a lot of promising evidence to suggest that this could be the future of meat consumption but that is many years of tireless work away. 

VEGAN & VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY?

No, not at all. With these lifestyles, there's a commitment made to abstain from consuming meat regardless of how it is conceived. I would never eat a piece of meat again, I don't care if it was grown in a lab or came straight from the slaughter house, and I feel like a lot of vegans & vegetarians would share that same sentiment. As I said earlier, there's not enough information yet as to whether this is a cruelty free process of creating meat, rather that it is more environmentally friendly. The reduction is land use, energy use, and toxic greenhouse gases is certainly reason to celebrate, but not enough of a reason for people who have given up meat to suddenly go back to it.

WHO'S THE TARGET MARKET?

I believe that lab grown meat will entice those who make conscious efforts in their lives to reduce their environmental impact but perhaps have yet to commit to ditching meat. While it may be hypocritical to consume meat knowing the environmental impact of factory farmed animals while simultaneously promoting the banning of single use plastics or electric vehicles, these people exist. I honestly think the idea of meat that doesn't contribute so heavily to environmental pollution will entice those environmentally conscious folk who still want to consume meat but want to do their part for the environment. I also believe that there are people out there who support stricter regulations for factory farms and meat production, but haven't fully committed to abstaining from these products.

IS LAB GROWN MEAT THE FUTURE?

Look, based on information that I found online, we're nowhere near the point where lab grown meat will phase out factory farming. Will this be the eventual outcome? I hope so, because the reports I did find online all suggested an enormous reduction in energy usage, pollution, and land use, not to mention the billions of animals that could be spared slaughter every year. 

I wholly support this initiative but don't think you'll catch me snacking on a piece of fried chicken or anything.

HAPPY VEG