On June 21, 2023, the United States joined Singapore as the second nation to allow the sale of lab-grown meat, through two California producers, Good Meat and Upside Foods.

Lab-grown meat is genetically modified protein from cells of animals. Its  production takes place entirely in the laboratory. 

What is it exactly? According to Clair Bomkamo of Good Food Institute, the product is the same as “traditional meat,” without the animal.

Producing it requires extracting cells from a living or just slaughtered animal and keeping them in a culture environment for replication. 

Cells for chicken meat, which is the first “cultivated meat” product on sale, come from fertilized eggs rather than the bird itself. 

The cells of lab-grown meat include muscle-repairing satellite cells that can be reused 30 times or more. There are also stem cells, with the ability to recreate any body part. 

 Cultured meat, another name for lab-grown meat, has the appearance, taste, scent and texture of the real thing. 

Pitching on the possibility of legalization of cultured meat, 150 global companies had already invested over $896 million in 2022 on lab-grown meat. The first two licenses by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) went to two brands. One of these, Upside Foods, set to launch the new product in San Francisco in partnership with Bar Crenn restaurant. On its part, Good Meat set its sights on Washington D.C., via the J.A. China Chilcano restaurant. 

Statistical point of view

Lab-produced meat may help limit animal cruelty. Each year, about 70 billion domestic animals, mostly chicken, undergo slaughter for meat. 80% of pigs in the U.S. live in very small housing sties, a reason for the California Prop 12 bill.

Pressure on global protein supply also comes to bear on cultured meat. The world population crossed the 8-billion mark in 2022 and projections show it will hit 9 billion by 2040. 

Supply of protein from sources like meat is already an uphill task, hence the boon of lab-grown meat.

2022 reports from India showed that 16.6% and 29.4% of men and women, aged 49 and below, respectively, were true vegetarians. A year earlier in 2021, 24% of Indians were vegetarians, 18% consumed meat selectively, while the rest ate meat regularly.

With the coming of cultured meat, prices are also likely drop. U.S. beef was costing $4.96 a pound or $10 per kilogram on August 18, 2023, while chicken was retailing at $3 a pound or at least $1.91 per pound wholesale.