Lab-Grown Meat (what it is, how it’s made)

Is lab-grown meat real meat, or something else dressed up? It’s normally made by growing animal cells outside the animal in controlled conditions, until they form edible tissue. Although a few don’t use animal cells at all, making ‘meat’ from similar cells from fungi and other ingredients.

Redefine Meat has been making waves, as unlike most lab meats (that uses a few animal cells), this is made with plant ingredients, to create a ‘meat’ that looks, tastes and carves like the real thing.

Apart from for commercial pet foods using it, keep lab-grown meats away from pets due to unsafe ingredients like salt, onion and garlic. Read more on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe for children, pregnancy/nursing and animal friends). 

Just bin onion scraps as acids could harm compost creatures (same with rhubarb, tomato and allium scraps – garlic, shallots, leeks, chives). For tinned ingredients, fully remove lid or pop ring-pull over holes before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped. 

What lab-grown meat actually is

It sounds like beakers and white coats, but in fact it’s made a far more hygienic and cleaner environment than real meat (abattoirs) and has none of the blood, bone, guts and poop associated with this cruel industry.

Even if the cells are from animals to cultivate, these are taken gently and without harm. One pig in the USA had her cells removed which have been cultivated and multiplied to make Mission Barns ‘meat’. She is happily running around her farm sanctuary, unaware that she has saved the lives of millions of fellow pig friends!

Lab-grown meat is kind of made in the same was a yoghurt, with a ‘culture’ to start which then keeps on giving.

Some call it ‘fake meat. But it’s important to remember that most meat sold in England is from factory farms (there is not enough land for everyone to eat free range). And lab-grown meats have zero cholesterol, in a country with huge issues for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure.

Safety, nutrition, cost and shops

Lab-grown meats tend to be safer, as there is less chance of disease due to no factory-farmed animals. Rules vary by country, but it’s safe and nutritious, and expected to be on sale in UK shops within a few years. Surveys show that a third of people who eat meat are willing to try it, and some chefs promote it.

What it might mean for the planet and animals

Only good news! Lab-grown meats mean far less animal suffering, and less greenhouse gases from livestock farming. Eating animals foods is presently one of the main drivers of climate change, so this is a very exciting field, especially with companies now even making meats without having to take animal cells.

One company in Israel is presently undergoing Kosher certification, showing that lab-grown meats are also an ideal alternative to religious slaughter (no stunning) – though it’s perfectly okay for Jews and Muslims to be vegan, and still follow the rules of their faith. 

More incredible lab-grown meats

Juicy Marbles uses natural ingredients (secret recipe!) to create gourmet plant-based steaks and joints, you would not know the difference. Also available for food service, this is super-easy to cook.

BlueNalu is created ‘tuna steaks’ in a lab, by taking cells from one wild endangered bluefin tuna fish. This helps to prevent over-fishing and by-catch (which harms dolphins, seals, whales, sea turtles and sharks that are caught in nets).

Vow (Australia) is already serving fine dining restaurants with its alternative to kangaroo, water buffalo and alpaca meats. It also makes Forged Gras (to replace a pate made by force-feeding ducks and geese, until their livers turn to pate).

Air Protein grows in hours (compared to 2 years for beef or 1 year for soy) using air cultures to create a ‘meat’ that contains all amino acid proteins, and needs no arable land. This brand was created by two doctors (physics and biology) who were inspired by the way astronauts were fed in space during the 1970s.

The Better Meat Co is different in that it’s a complete protein meat alternative, but made from rhiza mycoprotein (the root system of fungi). With more protein than eggs, more iron and zinc than beef, more fibre than oats and more potassium than bananas, it’s made into burgers, steak, chicken, crab, fish, deli slices, hot dogs, foie gras, bacon, meatballs, taco meat and jerky.

Made by fermenting potatoes, rice and corn, this creates a high protein food within hours, with the natural texture of animal meat (though fungi, it’s not mushrooms which are species of fungi).

Using Lab-Grown Meats for Pet Food

One way that lab-grown meats are helping, is to replace factory-farmed meats in cheap pet food, to provide ‘real meat’ for animals that need it (say cats, who are obligate carnivores). And if you run a sanctuary for lions rescued from zoos, they are not going to be happy (or healthy) if you feed them tofu burgers!

Meatly has produced the first ‘chicken’ for the commercial pet food industry, by taking cells from a chicken egg, and growing it in a lab to save 50 billion real chickens slaughtered each year, for the meat industry.

BioCraft is doing the same, a company founded by a biochemist who studied at Stanford University. It has created ‘meat’ from growing animal-cells, to grow cruelty-free ‘chicken, rabbit and mouse meat!’

How it compares with plant-based burgers and regular meat

• Cultivated meat uses animal cells and a nutrient mix to grow tissue. Plant-based burgers use plant proteins, oils, and flavourings to copy meat’s taste and texture. Regular meat comes from animals, with all the variability that brings.
• Taste and texture can overlap across all three, but the routes are different. Cultivated meat aims to match meat because the raw material is meat tissue. Plant-based products often rely on flavour systems and fats to mimic the same notes.
• Allergens differ too. Plant-based burgers may include soy, gluten, or pea protein. Cultivated meat may still bring animal-related sensitivities, and any added ingredients matter as well, so labels stay important.

Why companies and governments are interested in it

Interest tends to cluster around a few goals. First, there’s the hope of using less land than livestock farming. Second, there’s the idea of reducing routine antibiotic use associated with some farming systems. Third, countries like the thought of more resilient supply, with production closer to cities.

There’s also the ethics angle. Cultivated meat can offer meat without slaughter, although it still begins with animal cells and, depending on the process, may still use animal-derived materials.

One caution keeps coming up. The benefits depend on energy use and factory design. If a cultivated meat plant runs on fossil-heavy electricity, the climate case looks weaker. If it runs on low-carbon power, the story improves.

Is it safe, and how is it regulated?

Cultivated meat still has to meet food safety standards. Regulators focus on things like production controls, contamination risks, and clear labelling. The details vary by country, so a product approved in one place may not be sold in another.

A well-run process has strong traceability, clean equipment, and routine testing. Still, people will expect transparency over ingredients and methods, plus ongoing monitoring once products sell at scale.

Clean production helps, but trust also comes from clear labels and plain explanations of what’s in the packet.

Will it be cheaper, and will it really help the planet?

Right now, it’s costly because equipment is expensive, growth media can be pricey, and small plants don’t spread costs well. Energy use also adds up, because bioreactors need steady control.

Costs could fall with bigger factories, cheaper inputs, and more efficient bioreactors. That’s the usual manufacturing story, but it takes time.

On climate impact, energy makes a big difference. A plant powered by renewables has a different footprint from one running on fossil-heavy electricity. Supply chains matter too, from ingredients to packaging to transport.