Lab-Grown Chicken Approved For Sale In The United States
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On June 21, 2023, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted
As you might have guessed, lab-grown meat is not sourced from traditional animal farming. Instead, it is produced by collecting cells from live animals and cultivating them in a controlled laboratory environment. The process involves nurturing the isolated cells with vitamins and amino acids. This helps them multiply and develop into muscle tissue. The resulting product replicates the taste and texture of conventionally farmed meat.
The USDA approval comes at a crucial time in our quest to slow the impact of global warming. According to the United Nations, livestock production is responsible for 14.6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. A 2022 study from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that phasing out animal agriculture could help halt the increase of greenhouse gases for 30 years. This would provide us enough time to repair the damage we have caused thus far.
Livestock farms also contribute to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and water pollution. Additionally, animals raised for food production are often treated inhumanely. Lab-grown meat may help alleviate all the issues and provide an environmentally-friendly way to make meat.
However, before you dash out to your nearest supermarket in search of the new chicken, note that neither company is ready for mass production. UPSIDE Foods, which has the country's largest production facility, currently makes only 50,000 (22,680 kg) pounds of meat per year. This is the equivalent of about 10,000 chickens — only a fraction of the eight billion birds Americans consume annually. Hence, for now, the products are only available at a select few restaurants around the country.
But there are currently over 100 companies working on various iterations of cultivated meat. They range from beef to seafood. So, we can all be assured that sustainable and cruelty-free meat production is in our future.
Resources: Smithsonian.com, NPR.com, Dcist.com, Yahoonews.com, Time.com
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86 Comments
skylar018 monthsI get the grass feed one
iceyqueen10 monthsCool, but I'll stick with real chicken. I really wouldn't feel comfortable knowing that I'm eating lab grown artificial chicken.
clxdystxrs11 monthsahhh whyyyyy I honestly think real chicken is better anyone with me?
walasiwanoku12 monthsAnd I thought plant-based meat was kind of weird!
ladybug254712 monthsOk why dose this sound gross!🤮
kirkturbos7 monthstotally agreed!- walasiwanoku12 monthsProbably because it is.
- sandoval0about 1 yearbelive that real chicken is better than lab made chicken, even though lab made is benificial to the enviroment.
- 1dominiquegabout 1 yearI like the idea of lab grown meat I feel like it will be a fun experience also because in the video above it says that the scientist can custom the way of the meat.
- alfonsoschzabout 1 yearI believe that if they manage to produce more and people start liking the artificial chicken in the long run restaurants and food places are going to start to make the real chicken more expensive and exotic.
08000997 monthsyea but it will be hard to pay for people who prefer real chicken instead of lab made chicken
- ayanaac09about 1 yearI believe that once they produce it and people like it they should make more but it just doesn't sound right of making a lab chicken but I like the idea.
- 2027255ecabout 1 yearI belive that real chicken is better than lab made chicken, even though lab made is benificial to the enviroment.