Lab grown meat approved for sale in the U.S.

Two companies, Upside Meat and Upside Foods, were recently approved by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration to produce and sell cell-cultivated chicken in the United States. Cell-cultivated meat uses real animal cells grown in labs to produce safe and sanitary meat without raising or slaughtering any animals. 

Earlier this month, the USDA approved both companies for their labels, the same ones put on traditional meat as a stamp of approval and safety by the Department. The USDA label comes after months of approvals over the process of how cultivated meat is created by the companies, which means that this lab-grown chicken has been deemed safe to produce, sell, serve, and eat in the U.S.

“It’s real, delicious meat with an identical nutritional profile to conventionally raised meat but with less impact on our planet and less risk of contamination,” according to Good Meat.

Both companies source cells from real chickens in order to create their cultivated meat. Cells are extracted with no harm to the animal. These cells are then grown in a bioreactor vat for 4-6 weeks with no antibiotics, growth hormones, or GMOs while being fed nutrients such as vitamins, fats, and amino acids. Due to the lack of a host animal with organs, like intestines, the lab-grown chicken has no chance of getting contaminants that riddle the meat industry such as E. coli and salmonella. 

“We’re making meat,” said Upside Foods, “It’s not a meat alternative, it’s meat!”

After the meat has grown in the bioreactor, it is sent off to processing where the companies use molds and 3-D printing technology to shape the chicken into familiar cuts we see every day at our local butchers and markets. 

The companies plans to launch its cultivated chicken through restaurants in order to see how restaurants and consumers react to the new protein. If all goes well in the kitchen and in the dining rooms, production will ramp up enough to go to the supermarket shelves, which the companies both admit is a step way down the line. 

Worried livestock producers have little to worry about, as traditional meat is a highly efficient process that only gains in demand. Since 1910, chicken consumption has increased by 540% in the United States. 

The Missouri Department of Agriculture sent a statement to the Marshfield Mail regarding the new approval of cultivated meat sales and how further expansion of the cell-cultivated meat industry will affect livestock farmers in the Show-Me state:

“Livestock producers across Missouri and the United States produce quality, nutritious protein for consumers here at home and around the globe. Consumers wanting delicious, real protein at the center of their plates should continue to purchase meat produced on farms and ranches. The Missouri Department of Agriculture remains focused on supporting Missouri’s farmers and ranchers.”