Meat from cultivated animal cells can be sold in the U.S. for the 1st time

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Chicken grown from animal cells, not from slaughtered birds, can now be sold in the U.S., after the Agriculture Department issued approvals to California firms Upside Foods and Good Meat to sell the products, known as “lab-grown” or “cultivated” meat.

The goal is to eliminate harm to animals and drastically reduce the environmental impacts of raising them. The meat will initially be sold only at upscale restaurants.

Companies around the world are developing lab-grown chicken nuggets that do not involve slaughtering chickens. U.S. regulators for the first time approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation’s restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.

The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn’t come from slaughtered animals — what’s now being referred to as “cell-cultivated” or “cultured” meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.

The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste.

A manufacturing company called JOINN Biologics, which works with Good Meat, was also cleared to make the products.

Cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks, using cells that come from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells.

Good Meat, which already sells cultivated meat in Singapore, the first country to allow it, turns masses of chicken cells into cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat and satays. The companies plan to serve the new food first in exclusive restaurants. Company officials are quick to note the products are meat, not substitutes like the Impossible Burger or offerings from Beyond Meat, which are made from plant proteins and other ingredients.

Globally, more than 150 companies are focusing on meat from cells, not only chicken but pork, lamb, fish and beef, which scientists say has the biggest impact on the environment.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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[Trudy Munk and her young niece in McDonald’s restaurant]

[McDonald’s chicken nuggets] Client’s note: not made with lab-grown meat

[Young niece eating] Client’s note: not made with lab-grown meat

[Scientist looking into microscope at lab]

[Sample of cow cells on microscope plate]

[Computer screen showing cow muscle cells under microscope]

[Udi Lazimy, Global Plant Sourcing Lead, Just, walking into plant sample storage room inside Just HQ]

Udi Lazimy (interview): “So, what we have in this room is our plant library. So, the premise of the company is to screen through the world’s plants to discover functional applications in the food system. So, by functional we mean, can it emulsify oils? Can it do things in food that we know and are familiar with, things like eggs and dairy do, like making dressings and condiments and all sorts of different things. But we’re looking at how plants could potentially do that more sustainably and more healthfully.”

[Lazimy showing shelled hemp seed which can be used as parmesan replacement]

[Hemp seed “parmesan”]

[Lazimy opening container full of algae powder]

[Different kinds of beans]

Joshua Tetrick (interview): “Today, with the world as it is, with growing populations, with pressure on our water systems, on our land. We need a better way. A cleaner way, a safer way. And we thought the idea of providing people the meat that they love without killing the animal, without all the land and the resources, might be a good path to help us eat better in the future.”

[Lab worker measuring plant powder in machine]

[Robotic arm testing molecular makeup of various plant powders]

[Robotic arm grabbing small bottle of plant powder]

[Bottle turning]

[Mung beans container]

Joshua Tetrick (interview): “And the tools that we look at are the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom, except we don’t need to kill the animal, right? We’ve got animal cells, fat or muscle. We’ve got plants like the mung bean and we combine these together to make all sorts of different food products, from egg, to chicken, to eventually beef and fish.”

[Lab-grown chicken nugget before cooking]

[Chef cooking chicken nugget]

[Chef placing nugget on plate]

[Jason Hull, Marin County Chef, tasting lab-grown chicken nugget]

Jason Hull (interview): “The flavour’s delicious. The texture is spot on, and that’s not easy to do, right? And – like I said – I didn’t miss the real thing, you know? This is all plant-based, it’s healthy. I know it’s healthier for the planet. I know it’s healthier for me and healthier for our communities.”

Joshua Tetrick (interview): “This only matters when the world gets to a place where an everyday person can go into an everyday grocery store and the core option is the one that is healthier, more sustainable, the one that didn’t even require touching or even looking at an animal. When it gets there, then the world changes. Until that, we’re still in the early days of making this work, but we’re getting closer.”

[Lab-grown steak on plate]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

The related lesson for this video will be published next Wednesday.