Advocates of lab-grown meat poke holes in claim it's bad for the environment
I spent a lot of time this week talking to cultivated meat ambassadors, cell-based meat (CBM) business founders, and even politicians about the present and future of this industry. One recurring topic is the evolution of CBM. And to that regard, I found a really great article, which remains more than relevant, by Jessica Scott-Reid in Corporate Knights: Advocates of lab-grown meat poke holes in claim it’s bad for the environment
To avoid revealing too many details from Jessica’s piece, two quotes particularly stand out, shedding light on our collective journey. Liz Specht draws an analogy, suggesting that we should assess the environmental impact of solar panels by modern production methods, looking past those of the 1980s, just as we should judge the potential of cultivated meat by its mature efficiency, looking past current R&D-scale processes. Similarly, Bruce Friedrich, speaking at the Animal and Vegan Advocacy Summit in Los Angeles, highlighted the flawed logic of doubting the future infrastructure for innovations, likening it to early scepticism around electric vehicles due to the lack of charging stations at the time. This, he argues, overlooks the natural progression of innovation.
A recent UC Davis study raises questions about the environmental impact of cell-cultured meat, suggesting it might be more significant than that of traditional meat. This study, under review, is built on assumptions like the use of pharmaceutical-grade media in cell cultivation, sparking a debate about its accuracy. Could these assumptions be a call to arms for researchers, the industry, and environmentalists to work together on making cell-based meat more eco-friendly?
As I said, this tech keeps evolving. It’s just getting off the ground, and its current environmental footprint is a stepping stone to something far more efficient than animal protein. At the same time, being open about the challenges and potential of cell-cultured meat helps build public trust and understanding.