What is Cultured Meat, and What You Should Know About it.

This is Cassie Bell coming to you from a deluged KOTWN radio station in the heart of the Bay. For those of you who tuned in this morning, thank you. Here at our station, we recognize between the horrendous fires we’ve all experienced recently and now the downpour that shows no end in sight; we realize global warming is real, and we are experiencing its results. Even so, the show must go on, and today I am pleased to share the microphone again with Annie, our resident food-as-medicine expert. Our topic today is Cultured Meat and what you should know about it. Welcome, Annie. In the past, you shared information on plant-based eating, the lifestyle, and its benefits. Today it sounds like you are taking us back to eating meat. Why on earth would we want to go back to that when as you’ve said in the past, the impact of raising animals for human consumption is what has contributed significantly to global warming?”

“Thanks for having me again, Cassie. It is true the practice of raising animals as a human protein source is no longer sustainable due to the adverse environmental impacts on our home planet. Researchers, scientists, and agriculturists have been working on several solutions.

One is plant-based protein. The market for this alternative, which mimics meat’s taste and texture, is currently worth 1.4 billion.

In the USA, 65% of respondents had consumed plant-based alternatives (defined as products that attempt to mimic the flavor and texture of animal protein but are made with only plant products) in the previous year. In comparison, 20% consumed them at least weekly and 22% daily. — Consumer Acceptance of Plant-Based Meat

Another answer is the growing movement toward vegetarianism. In 2022 it was noted that 22% of the global population is vegetarian, and In the US, 1 in 10 Americans over 18 say they do not eat meat, according to the Alliance for Science.

A third option, and the one I’d like to discuss today, is Cultured Meat, also known as Cultivated Meat. It is created by taking animal (including fish) stem cells (which self-renew and differentiate) and growing them in a laboratory. Because cultured meat is real meat, it appears to be an alternative for the population who prefers meat.