It is important to begin by noting that I am not a vegetarian—I eat meat.
Still, there is something undeniably strange about eating meat nowadays. I think it stems from the fact that most of us are completely disconnected from the production of the meat we consume.
Plus, we eat a lot more meat than ever before.
In 1960, Americans ate an average of 28 pounds of chicken, per person, each year. In 2022 it was more than 100 pounds.
More than 70 billion chickens are slaughtered annually. To put that number in perspective, it is estimated that 100 billion humans have ever existed throughout the entire life of our species.
Again, I don’t mention all of this to be preachy or judgmental—I eat meat and I don’t raise the meat that I eat myself. All of this is to say that there is a serious cost to the ever-increasing quantity of meat that most of us consume.
Jonel Aleccia & Laura Ungar, AP News:
For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday 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.
[…]
In a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Half of U.S. adults said that they are unlikely to try meat grown using cells from animals. When asked to choose from a list of reasons for their reluctance, most who said they’d be unlikely to try it said “it just sounds weird.” About half said they don’t think it would be safe.
[…]
It could take a few years before consumers see the products in more restaurants and seven to 10 years before they hit the wider market… Cost will be another sticking point… Eventually, the price is expected to mirror high-end organic chicken, which sells for up to $20 per pound.
There are still big challenges that need to be solved before cultivated meat can become mainstream. Consumer acceptance and cost are both particularly salient. At least now regulatory hurdles can be checked off of that list.