LAB-GROWN MEAT

Subject: Science & tech

Context: The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) approved this week the sale of a lab-grown meat product. This is the first time cultured meat has been cleared for sale anywhere in the world. The product approved by the SFA is cultured chicken, produced by US-based East Just.

Concept:

How is lab-grown or cultured meat different from plant-based meat?

• The latter is made from plant sources such as soy or pea protein, while cultured meat is grown directly from cells in a laboratory.
• Both have the same objective: to offer alternatives to traditional meat products that could feed a lot more people, reduce the threat of zoonotic diseases, and mitigate the environmental impact of meat consumption.
• In terms of cellular structure, cultured or cultivated meat is the same as conventional meat — except that cultured meat does not come directly from animals.

Benefits:

• According to the Good Food Institute (GFI)’s 2019 State of the Industry Report on cultivated meats, compared to conventional meat, cultivated meat could reduce land use by more than 95%, climate change emissions by 74-87% and nutrient pollution by 94%.
• Since cultivated meat is created in clean facilities, the risk of contamination by pathogens such as salmonella and E coli, which may be present in traditional slaughterhouses and meat-packing factories, is significantly reduced.
• It does not require antibiotics either, unlike animals raised for meat, thereby reducing the threat posed to public health by growing antibiotic resistance.