What’s Slowing Down Clean Meat?
It should be possible to produce small-scale clean meat products of in the near future. But, producing clean meat on a scale that could significantly effect our plight against global climate change is likely to take many decades.
LUKAS JASIUNAS: ‘According to several initial life cycle assessments, the potential of clean meat is immense — researchers and professionals claim it can significantly reduce water use, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication potential, and land use compared to conventional farmed animal systems. But, it is vital to understand that these are all mere estimates so far…
A review by a mixed group of researchers and professionals from the U.K., focused on the technical, sociopolitical, and regulatory opportunities and challenges professionals face in bringing clean meat to market. The researchers based this work on published literature, their own professional experience (including ongoing laboratory work in producing clean meat), and over 70 interviews with experts in the area…
The authors find that it should be possible to produce small-scale clean meat products of edible quality in the near future. But, the most ambitious targets of producing clean meat on a scale that could significantly affect our plight against global climate change is likely to take many decades—if it is at all possible.
All of the media excitement around the topic might in fact be premature—more scientific assessments are necessary to critically evaluate the true impacts of this technology. It is vital to be more certain of clean meat’s future environmental, social, and ethical consequences before professionals unleash it. The authors urge continued critical analysis of these consequences to better understand who and what clean meat will affect and how.
Despite clean meat’s thrilling potential, we—as animal advocates—should still be cautious of promoting cultured meat as a kind of Holy Grail. It is still at an early technological stage with some hurdles to overcome before cruelty-free muscle protein can ever turn up in our grocery aisles’. SOURCE…
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