Two American startups - Upside Foods and Good Meat - received official approval from the US Department of Agriculture to sell cultured chicken meat grown in a laboratory from bird cells.
The companies became the first plant-based meat producers in the country to be approved for sale. Startups will supply alternative meat to restaurants in Washington and San Francisco. Initially, the companies plan to produce up to 50,000 pounds of cultured meat products a year.
Later, the companies plan to expand production to 400 thousand pounds a year and sell products to large retail outlets. Some people are of the opinion that such meat causes cancer. The rest believe that cultured meat will help avoid negative impacts on the environment and animals.
MS RDN, US-based registered dietitian and freelance health content writer Ann Danahy in an interview to Ednews noted that, cultured meat might have a number of significant advantages.
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“Raising animals for food has a major negative impact on the environment, contributing to air and water pollution, and using huge amounts of land, water, and other natural resources. In time, cell-cultivated poultry and meat could provide a more sustainable solution for meat eaters. However, we must consider the energy needed to produce massive amounts of meat in a factory and the number of factories that these companies will need to build. It’s hard to say whether lab-grown meat will come out ahead for the environment”
The nutritionist spoke about the negative aspects of meat and the positive aspects that cultured meat will create.
“Cell-cultivated meat should be a better option from a food-borne illness standpoint. Slaughtered animals are, often, contaminated with dangerous bacteria, but that should not be the case with meat grown under tightly controlled conditions.
Other potential health benefits include the ability to create meats with a favorable nutrient profile (i.e. no saturated fat, healthier fats, etc.) and there will be no need for antibiotics, hormones, or additives that large-scale farms often use.
Lab-grown meat offers significant animal welfare benefits, and eventually, if manufacturers can scale production, it might help address food security issues, providing a reliable, cost-effective protein source.”
D. Ann noted that the production of cultured meat is expensive.
“The biggest concerns are that it’s still very expensive to produce and hard to scale production. Manufacturers will also have to overcome what many describe as the “ick” factor. It’s an unfamiliar food, and assuming it’s safe and comparable to traditional meat, there will need to be much education and marketing until it’s accepted.”
In the end, she admitted she believes that cultured meat will benefit in the future. The nutritionist urges everyone to give preference to plant foods.
“I think cell-cultivated meat deserves a look, but it’s too early to say if it will provide as many benefits as expected. As far as health and safety, it is too new to say. There certainly is no evidence that cell-cultivated meat causes cancer. But it takes years of research to say whether it has a positive, negative, or neutral effect on any aspect of health.
As a dietitian, I’d love to see everyone eat less meat and highly processed food and more whole plant foods. We know for certain that can make a positive impact on our environment and health.”
Feel free to visit Anne Danahy's website
Nurlana Hajiyeva
