Laboratory-grown meat production, also known as cellular agriculture, is an emerging industry that may be more environmentally-friendly than traditional beef because no land or crops are needed for grazing or feed crops.
However, some scientists are concerned that unless production methods change in this industry, lab-grown meat could actually worsen environmental conditions. According to one preprint study, its global heating potential could be as much as 25 times greater than retail beef.
Energy
Lab-grown meat could reduce conventional meat production’s environmental impacts, depending on its energy requirements and source. However, its success will ultimately depend on what energy source powers it.
Traditional livestock farming produces greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide that account for 14.5% of global GHG emissions. By contrast, cultivating meat does not result in these GHGs due to not involving raising or slaughtering live animals.
Cultivated meat is produced through cells grown using nutrients like amino acids in massive bioreactors similar to those used by the pharmaceutical industry and typically filled with water. Cells in these bioreactors are fed animal proteins or plant-based protein powders for nutrition; some companies have even developed products like cultivated chicken, beef and pork which they sell at restaurants and grocery stores.
Future cell-grown meat production could come from more species of animals, enabling producers to offer consumers more varieties that appeal to them. But ultimately, its success depends on consumer acceptance; to make lab-grown meat mainstream, consumers will need to embrace this new technology rather than purchasing from factory farms.
When Will Lab-Grown Meat Hit the Market? Commercial sales of lab-grown meats are anticipated by 2023. Singapore served Eat Just’s chicken product at COP27 climate conference for world leaders to sample before its eventual introduction into US market regulation by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Current processes to produce one kilogram of lab-grown meat require four to 25 times more energy than producing retail beef due to purified media required for growing cells requiring energy-intensive production processes. But according to Good Food Institute scientist Elliot Swartz, these findings may be flawed due to misapprehensions about how laboratories work.
Water
Animal agriculture uses tremendous quantities of water. A typical beef cow produces around 83,000 gallons daily. Pigs, chickens and other livestock also require large amounts for feeding purposes – often polluting soil and surface waters as well as groundwater supplies, contributing to increased sea levels as well as greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Conventional livestock farming accounts for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, producing methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide as harmful environmental pollutants. On the bright side, plant-based and lab-grown meats have much lower environmental impacts compared to conventional animal agriculture.
However, it should be remembered that current research on cultivated meat primarily uses pharmaceutical-grade ingredients and processes; this means energy requirements to purify these pharmaceutical components are significant; approximately 80 to 26% more energy is used during these processes than for traditional meat production.
Some researchers are working towards creating an efficient process for cultivating meat. Their goal is to move from “pharma to food”, so cultivated meat production uses ingredients and processes similar to those employed by food industry producers – thus decreasing energy requirements and greenhouse gas emission rates.
Many are optimistic about the promise of food lab-grown meat to provide consumers with an alternative method for enjoying meat without the ethical or environmental impacts associated with raising and slaughtering animals. But before adopting any new technology, it’s crucial that we consider its implications before moving forward with its implementation.
Though research indicates that cultivated meat may not be as eco-friendly as plant-based proteins, its impact is still being determined. With more companies producing such products and developing its technology further. Furthermore, many producers combine it with plant-based ingredients in order to bring down costs and lower environmental impact.
Carbon Dioxide
Modern livestock farming brings with it cruelty, environmental destruction and infectious diseases – but its primary drawback lies elsewhere: an enormous amount of carbon is released through raising and slaughtering animals; this CO2–which takes far longer than methane produced by cows to dissipate from the atmosphere – can contribute to climate change as well as water scarcity issues.
A handful of companies are making efforts to produce meat from animal cells without resorting to slaughterhouses or feedlots – using technologies similar to 3D printing – in lab-grown forms that look, smell and taste just like real meat.
Clean or cultured meat, also referred to as clean protein, is produced using muscle stem cells harvested from mammals, birds, fish, and insects – including mammals, birds, fish, and insects – then replicated in a laboratory to form meat products such as ground beef and chicken nuggets; eventually however the goal is to produce steak-like steak-shaped cuts too.
One pre-print study that has made headlines suggests cultivated meat may produce higher carbon emissions than its regular counterpart, though researchers who conducted the research don’t fault its cultivation directly – they instead blame biopharmaceutical-style production methods which produce endotoxins which have serious health impacts for humans and increased emissions; food-grade production processes would eliminate them altogether and thus lower emissions levels significantly.
If these researchers can successfully develop new cult-favourite meats, this could open up more options in what people eat. Bomkamp suggests cultured meats could allow people to consume endangered sea creatures due to low availability or difficulty farming them – even bluefin tuna could possibly be eaten without depleting wild populations!
Proponents of this technology are confident that people will accept it if the taste and texture are satisfactory, while at the same time replacing more of today’s meat supply with climate-friendly options. It will take time, but several countries have already approved lab-grown meat products; FDA is considering their approval as well; two startups, UPSIDE Foods and Good Meat are planning on selling theirs in restaurants in San Francisco and Washington D.C.
Methane
Lab grown meat production offers many advantages over conventional livestock farming, such as reduced confinement, air pollution and greenhouse gases produced from grazing animals and raising them for meat production. Furthermore, lab produced meat can lower disease outbreak risks by eliminating pathogen transmission between sick or injured livestock and healthy consumers and alleviating pressure on global food supplies by freeing up land and water for other uses. Unfortunately however, lab produced meat still faces certain challenges; many consumers remain wary about accepting its benefits; moreover environmental sustainability and maintaining farm worker jobs remain concerns among many other issues raised when discussing what are known as lab produced products.
Cultivated meat has yet to make its debut to consumers, but initial products could reach restaurants within two to five years. UPSIDE foods is selling its product through Bar Crenn in San Francisco while Good Meat will partner with one of Jose Andres’ restaurants in Washington D.C. For commercial sale, all cultivated meat must be FDA-approved and go through stringent inspection processes in order to be sold as consumer food products.
Companies creating these new products aim to make them affordable; some even hope to reach price parity with conventional meat within 10 years. They use renewable energy sources as much as possible in their facilities while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions; however, due to equipment such as reactors and pipes used during cultivation processes that emit emissions, it remains challenging to entirely do away with fossil fuel emissions entirely.
As scientists work to refine this process, they may also find ways to minimize its environmental impact. One such way involves using vesicles which deliver oxygen and nutrients directly to cells as they grow; this ensures they survive while creating the next burger, steak or chicken breast.
Although lab grown meat doesn’t involve slaughtering an animal, it still contains potentially unhealthy components like cholesterol and saturated fats which have been linked to heart disease and high blood pressure. By decreasing such ingredients, it may provide greater benefit than traditionally produced meat in terms of human health benefits.
