Whats the Deal with Lab Grown Meat?

Food for Thought Newsletter - Issue 004

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Lab grown meat - what is it really?
• How to spot lab grown meat in foods and at stores and restaurants
• Local meat options

🥩 What is Lab Grown Meat?

First, what IS lab grown meat specifically? Is it the same as cultured meat? Is it plant based? Made with crickets? So many questions! And I’m going to try to clear these waters the best I can.

 

Lab grown meat is the same as cultured meat but it is NOT the same as plant based meat nor is it insect based. Lab grown meat is actually grown from meat cultures - so it has a basis of being real meat but let me tell you, it’s absolutely NOT natural in any way. ((oops, is my opinion showing??!!))

 

I’m going to play the devil’s advocate for just a second to share what the advantages are with lab grown meat - according to the producers, the CDC, and other “powers that be”.

 

• No slaughtering of animals
• Fewer environmental resources (grass, water, land, etc) ((but keep reading because the environmental IMPACT of lab grown meat is NOT pretty))
• According to the WWF beef production uses 25% of global land use and forestry emissions

 

How is the meat grown?

First, you harvest stem cells from cows - live cows, mind you,. (So they get the stem cells by harvesting parts of the muscle from a LIVE cow ((said to be harmless and painless – wonder if they’d like to volunteer to be muscle donators to prove that it’s harmless and painless??)) and they separate the muscle from any fat.

 

So, they aren’t slaughtering the animals, just cutting chunks out while they are alive. Gee, I’m sure the cow is thrilled!

 

From there, it’s cultured in a clean environment and given things like amino acids to grow one cell into one trillion cells. Essentially, it’s put in a soup of vitamins, salt, sugar, protein, and growth factors. Oh, and growth hormones, of course. YUM!

 

Unfortunately (for the folks making it), lab grown meat doesn’t look, taste, or feel like regular meat. But wait, there’s a sales tactic for that, too! It’s okay to eat bland, weird textured meat so we can feed the world! ((This is me holding my tongue))

 

Originally, each lab grown burger cost over 300K just to produce (and we thought BEEF was expensive) but the price has dropped to about $11 for a burger.

 

In the US, lab grown meat was approved in June 2023 and two companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods, both from California, are at the head of the pack in providing this synthetic meat. Although it’s not yet for sale in stores, some restaurants are starting to roll it out as part of their menu.

 

But, here’s the deal. And this is the good news. Folks within the cultivated meat industry say they aren’t trying to replace meat, but to provide options for our ever populating world.

 

Is Lab Meat Sustainable?

So, let’s talk about sustainability. Because that’s what we’re actually here for, right? How sustainable is lab grown meat? Well, first, you have to have real cows to get the cultures from so - we still need cows. However, according to a study done by UC Davis, here is the environmental impact they predict. First, (you’re going to love this), the ingredients used to help the animal cells multiply use a similar method of biotechnology that is also used in pharmaceuticals.

 

So lab meat and pharmaceuticals are kinda like kissing cousins - No thanks.

 

Also, the purification needed (also at pharmaceutical levels) uses more resources and creates more waste than traditional farming. Oh, and if you’re concerned about global warming, this will make you wonder … the potential for global warming per kg of good old fashioned meat produced is 25 times LOWER than that of lab raised meat.

 

However, I digress - the story is so crazy that I can’t help but share. Back to sustainability - you have to start with a healthy, live animal. You take a chunk of the healthy, live animal, put it in a chemical soup, add some growth hormones and then you have burger!

 

That does not seem near as sustainable as hatching an egg, raising the chicken, and then humanely butchering and enjoying it.

 

PLUS - we don’t just get meat from cows - we also get milk and milk products as well as hides and innards used for things.

 

Seriously. This is just not a good idea in any realm.

 

So, if you agree, let’s talk next about how to spot the stuff.

 

 

 

👀 How to Spot Lab Grown Meat in the Grocery Store or Restaurant

Thankfully, cultivated meat is not allowed in stores quite yet although restaurants across the country are starting to roll out cultured meat menus where it’s legal.

 

However, again, knowledge is power. So let’s talk about how to spot it. For now, legislation requires the meat labels to say “Cell-Cultured” and it will be on the menu for your restaurant food as well.

 

Side note, however, they are considering changing the labeling to read Cruelty-Free or Slaughter-Free.

 

So there you go!

 

📍 Local Meat Sources

I don’t have an exhaustive list of local meat sources but here are a few that I know of:

 

• Reimer Micro Farm (Lamb and Sheep)
• Four T Pct Ranch (Pork and Beef)
• Granite Peak Farms (Pork)
• Hungate Farms (Beef & Pork)
• Sunderland Farms
• DePriest Farms
• LunaChick Farm
• Mat-Su Farm Co-Op
• Bear Mountain Meats

I know there are likely many more but these are the ones I am aware of.

 

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please join our group Alaska Farm Direct and ask around because we can likely find you all the REAL meat you need, locally grown!

 

 

Food Freedom Talk W/Joel Salatin (Polyface Farms)

What a great honor to spend time with Joel Salatin and talk about all things homesteading and agriculture in Alaska. Joel is incredibly wise, and he's so willing to help and answer any questions we have.

 

Watch on Alaska Homestead Academy ->