Cell Based Meat

Cell Based Meat

1. Components that positively contribute to cell-based meat.

   • Cell-based meats can reduce environmental impact.
     • "Lab grown meat could cut down greenhouse gas emissions by 96%," (Poirot, 2021).
     • Consumers are becoming more aware of human and animals . Cell-based meat offers a more environmentally friendly protein alternative.
   • Cell-based meat can minimize animal welfare concerns.
     • In the seven weeks it takes a farmer to raise a flock of 20,000 chickens, a meat cultivation facility could theoretically produce a million times as much meat from a starter culture the size of a single egg (Emery, 2018a).
     • Livestock-producing farms can decrease in the future, ultimately preventing any potential harm being done to these animals.
   • Cell-based meats can help reduce food insecurity.
     • Meat production is inefficient and non-environmental, making it unsustainable (Emery, 2018a).
     • The life cycle of cell-based meat uses a reduced number of agricultural inputs (Lynch & Pierrehumbert, 2019).
   • Cell-based meats can spare land and resources.
     • Alternative use for previoulsy grazed land
       • United Nations scientists state that animal agriculture is one of the major causes of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, including land degradation, loss of biodiversity, global warming, and air and water pollution (FAO 2006).
     • Reduce the needed resources.
       • Meat cultivation will conserve soil, water, habitat, and other critical resources (Emery, 2018a).
       • "Switching to lab grown meat can cut down our water consumption between 82 and 96%, depending on the animal," (Poirot, 2021).

2. Issues that negatively impact cell-based meats.

   • The high cost of cell-based meat production.
     • The cost of cell-based meat facilities.
       • The estimated cost of a facility to produce 10 Kton a year of cell-based meat would cost $450 million (Paul Wood, 2022).
     • Consumers can expect to spend almost three times more for a cell-based burger compared to a beef patty from a cow.
       • According to the USDA, ground beef averages $3.65 per pound nationwide (USDA, 2023).
       • It is predicted the price of cell-cultured meat will be about $9.80 per burger (Forbes, 2022).
     • The first cell-based burger produced in 2013 by Maastricht university cost $280,400 to produce.
   • Consumer Reactions
     • Is it actually meat?
       • USDA and the FDA define meat as only the skeletal muscles from cattle, sheep, swine, and goats (Ong, et al., 2020)
       • USDA defines meat products as any product made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass (Ong, et al., 2020).
       • Although cell-based meat may not be able to be defined as "meat", consumers are already aware of labeling for plant-based meat products.
     • What will replace animal by-products?
       • Livestock produces several by-products, such as leather, pet food, cosmetics, and more. All of these products would need to be produced by other technologies (Tuomiso, 2018).
         • Consumers may not accept alternative sources of products due to personal reasons. For example, many women choose a cosmetics line and rarely stray from the brand. It would be hard to persuade her to try many new options.
   • Knowledge Gaps
     • Because cell-based meats are a recent phenomenon, there are many unknowns regarding the topic.
       • It is not clear whether viruses will prove a significant health hazard through the consumption of cell-cultured meat products (Whitworth, 2023)
       • The nutritional component
         • There is a potential for nutritional differences in cell-based meats compared to traditional meats due to flavorings, colorings, and added vitamins and minerals. (Whitworth, 2023).
           • However, because cultivated meat is made of the same cell types, they should be able to replicate the nutrional profile of meat (Bomkamp & Swartz, 2023).

3. What is it?

   • An alternative protein source.
   • An edible animal cell culture.
     • First a cell in collected from a live animal, then using a bioreactor it is expanded and differentiated to create meat (Ong, et al., 2020)
   • Also known as lab-grown meat.

4. Sources Cited:

   • Ong, S., Choudhury, D., & Naing, M. W. (2020, August)."Cell-based meat: Current ambiguities with nomenclature"
   • FAO. (2006). “Livestock’s Long Shadow.”
   • Emery. (2018). "Growing Meat Sustainably: The Cultivated Meat Revolution".
   • USDA. (2023). "National Retail Report: Beef".
   • Bryce Poirot. (2021). Lab Grown Meat- An Emerging Industry.
   • Joe Whitworth. (March 2023). "Data lacking in FSA Assessment of Hazards from Cell-based meats".
   • Bomkamp & Swartz. (2023). "The Science of Cultivated Meat".