of the animal. These cells are then cultivated in a medium of “fetal bovine serum,” blood extracted via cardiac puncture from fetuses taken from pregnant cows at slaughter. 11 12 Antibiotics and antifungal agents are added to the serum and the cells are left to grow on collagen-based scaffolding. Once the muscle strips are grown, which currently takes about three weeks, they can then be layered together, colored with beetroot juice, saffron, and caramel, and mixed with fat.13 It is important to note, however, that while the process currently uses fetal bovine serum and animal-based collagen,
that, “the livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems.”15 Not only does livestock farming lead to increased deforestation, land degradation, water pollution, and desertification, but it accounts for anywhere between 10-25% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissionws due to animals’ release of methane and nitrous oxide.16 A study conducted at Oxford University estimates that a complete replacement of CAFOs with cellular agriculture would reduce greenhouse gas emissions
SCIENTISTS ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIMENTING WITH SYTHETIC AND PLANT BASED ALTERNATIVES AND PLAN TO MAKE THE MEAT 100% CRUELTY FREE
scientists are experimenting with synthetic and plant-based alternatives and plan to make the meat 100% “cruelty-free.”14
by 78-98%, and there would also be significant reductions in overall land and water use, between 82-98%, and a 45% decrease in energy use.17
While this may certainly be a promising solution to the current CAFO system, there are a number of factors that should be considered.
Could lab-grown meat be healthier? Researchers argue that labgrown meat has the potential to be much healthier than its “en vitro” counterparts.18 Mark Post, researcher at Maastricht University, states that since it won’t require the use of antibiotics in the future, we won’t have to worry about the dangers of creating antibioticresistant bacteria and superbugs,
How might cellular agriculture impact the environment? CAFOs are extremely costly from an environmental perspective. Steinfeld et al., members of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, argue 14
which are a concern with factoryfarmed meat.19 Furthermore, growing tissue in this way would prevent the contamination of meats with diseases such as the avian flu or mad cow disease.20 In a 2008 report, the Pew Commission stated that, industrialized animal agriculture posed “unacceptable public health risks” as the concentration of animals allows pathogens to grow and spread much more rapidly.21 This is precisely what happened with regards to the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, which in the United States alone spread to approximately 60.8 million people and resulted in 12,469 deaths.22 Nutritionists do point out that even after removing the risks of antibiotics, steroids, and infectious disease, meat would still not be considered a highly nutritious food. In fact, the overconsumption of meat “may be responsible for over a quarter of all ischemic heart disease, or 1.8 million deaths annually.”23 However, if cellular agriculture is capable of altering meat to increase its nutritional value and remove or lower fat and cholesterol content, this could ‘potentially reduce such health concerns.’24 Will this improve animal welfare? Despite increased concern in animal welfare after the publication of Ruth Harrison’s book Animal Machines, the U.S. government has done little to improve conditions on CAFOs for animals, and “livestock” are still currently excluded from the Animal Welfare Act, which is the only federal law regarding the treatment of non-human animals.25 This is extremely concerning, especially considering what humans