Almy says the suggestion that ingesting immortalized cells could be linked to cancer in humans is “laughably absurd.” “I feel like these things that are farmed are more fear-mongering than anything else because so few people have ever eaten cultured meat or have access to it,” she says. “I feel like they’re taking advantage of the consumer’s lack of familiarity with the product.”
CEW’s website and advertising campaign are reminiscent of similar campaigns targeted at the plant-based meat industry by another US campaign group, the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF). One ad CCF ran during the 2020 Super Bowl featured a mock spelling bee as students struggled to spell some of the ingredients in a plant-based burger. “It may take a Ph.D. to understand what’s in synthetic meat,” a voiceover says. Founded in 1996 by Rick Berman, CCF has a long history of campaigning against plant-based meat. animal welfare charityand laws that prohibit Sale of animal fur.
CEW’s latest campaign also criticizes the environmental credentials of cultured meat, citing a preprint study that found that cultured meat’s carbon footprint can be 25 times higher than regular beef. This research was widely covered in the media, attracted criticism It won an award from the Good Food Institute for details on an unlikely production method that relies on highly sophisticated ingredient purification. Other studies have found that cultured meat may have a much lower carbon footprint. conventional beefHowever, until manufacturers scale up production, it is difficult to know exactly how emissions-intensive production is.
Bryant said the CEW website appears to intentionally select ingredients that put cultured meat in the worst position. “There is information being presented that is more worrying than it should be,” he said.
In response to the criticisms raised in this article, Mr. Hubbard said: “CEW simply presents existing research, subject matter expert opinions, and common sense perspectives to Americans so that they can make their own decisions. You can benefit from it.”
Most of the work in cultured meat is being done by privately funded startups, and the future of this nascent industry remains highly uncertain. However, there is also government support for this technology. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a $10 million grant to Tufts University in Boston for cultured meat research. England, Israeland the Netherlands.
However, some lawmakers oppose cultured meat. In November 2023, the Italian Parliament passed a law banning the use, sale, import and export of feed from “cell cultures or tissues of vertebrate origin.” In Arizona, a bill to ban the labeling of cultured animal cells as “meat” was introduced in January by state Representative Quang Nguyen, and another bill to restrict the labeling and sale of cultured meat has also been proposed in Arizona. has been done. florida and texas.
Almy says she hopes CEW’s campaign doesn’t prevent customers in the U.S. and abroad from finally having the opportunity to try cultured meat and decide for themselves whether to buy it again. “This is about consumer choice and innovation. We are very excited to see cultured meat come to market, and once consumers have the opportunity to try it, they will be able to see how it fits into their lives.” We hope people find it delicious and affordable.”
Updated January 19, 2024, 18:00 (GMT): The spelling of Jessica Almy’s name has been corrected.