Only a Rank Degenerate Would Drive Across Texas Without Eating a Chicken Friend Steak
The first time Josh Tetrick tried lab-grown meat, it was in the form of a chicken nugget – deep fried, with a crispy, golden coating. "It must have been a year or so ago," he says. "When I was growing up in Alabama, I remember eating nuggets at McDonald's and Burger King, and it just reminded me of that. It blew my mind."
The nugget in question was a creation of Tetrick's San Francisco-based food start-up, Just. One of Just's early batches of nuggets came from a chicken named Ian. Ian, it should be noted, was alive and well at the time of his eating. Indeed, he was present for Just's taste-test, rooting around in the grass while the testers tucked into his flesh. As this surreal moment is described in one of the company's promo videos, it was as if they had suddenly "figured out how life really works. And now we don't need to cause death in order to create food."
Cultured meat itself isn't a new technology
Just's meat – and it is real meat – is produced by the in vitro cultivation of animal cells. You might also have seen it referred to as cultured meat, cell-derived meat, slaughter-free meat or, somewhat leadingly, "clean meat". In the case of Just's chicken, cells are extracted from a single feather, causing no harm to the animal. These cells are then fed with nutrients – the same nutrients needed to nurture a healthy chicken – allowing them to multiply indefinitely, providing a limitless supply of nuggets. Or, should the cells be sourced elsewhere, beef burgers, lamb chops, bacon rashers or fish fillets. One feather, in theory, should be sufficient to generate the whole world's supply of animal proteins.
You won't find Just chicken nuggets in Whole Foods yet, let alone the chilled aisles of your local Tesco Metro. Not only is there a regulatory framework to navigate first, but the cost of production is still too high – reportedly about £80 a nugget. But Tetrick doesn't believe this will be the case for long. He points to the rapid development of mobile phones from "giant clunky things that only Wall Street bankers carried around" in the 1980s to the pocket-sized devices that our kids can now operate better than us. Cultured meat technologies, he believes, will advance just as rapidly. Prophetically, Bill Gates is a major investor.
"I see a world where you go into a retailer in the UK, or a restaurant in North America, or a shop in Mumbai, and the only meat you'll find is either plant-based or made from cell cultures," says Tetrick. "And I'd say it's very likely that's the world we'll live in within the next handful of decades."
The Future of Food
Cultured meat itself isn't a new technology. The world's first lab-grown burger – created by Dr Mark Post in the Netherlands and funded by one of Google's co-founders – was sampled back in 2013. It tasted "like an animal protein cake", according to one rather disappointed food writer. Since then, there have been many failed predictions as to when the first products would reach supermarket shelves; it would be easy to write off statements like Tetrick's as mere hype.
But it wouldn't be wise to do so. With our growing appetite for ethical, environmentally sustainable protein sources, opinion isn't so much shifting as landsliding. A report by consultancy firm Kearney estimated that a third of the global meat supply would be provided by hi-tech vegan replacements and cultured meats within the next decade. By 2025, cultured meat could begin to overtake vegan alternatives, making up 35% of the market by 2040. By then, more than half of our "meat" is likely to be slaughter-free. The report concludes that these new methods "will disrupt not only the meat industry, but the entire food industry. Products such as milk, egg white, gelatin and fish can be created with similar technology."
With billions of dollars to play for, Just isn't the only start-up seeking to muscle in. Dr Post's company, Mosa Meat, is aiming to bring its burgers to market by 2021 – only with a juicier, less "cakey" mouthfeel. Finless Foods is developing cultured seafood, starting with bluefin tuna; the company rejects the term "lab food", preferring to refer to its products as "fresh fish" or "clean seafood". Another start-up, Perfect Day, is vying to upend the oat "milk" market with "animal-free dairy" – that's real milk, only made without the cows and minus
the lactose, too. It markets its product as vegan, with ice cream already on sale in the US.
By 2025, cultured meat could begin to overtake vegan alternatives
Earlier this year, Israeli start-up Aleph Farms created the world's first lab-grown steak, which it hopes to sell in high-end restaurants within the next couple of years. Steak is a rather more complex proposition than nuggets or burgers – cultured meats currently lack the variety of texture that separates, say, a juicy cut of rib-eye from a block of mince.
Tetrick, too, is working on his own steak prototype, using cells extracted from Japan's finest wagyu cattle. "Initially, it will be a simplified approach," he says, "but eventually we'll be able to create structured products that have complex marbling. It's technically possible." There are benefits to cultured meats beyond ethics, too. By controlling the nutrients the cells are fed, it would be easier to create meat with consistently strong nutritional credentials: a favourable balance of macronutrients, beneficial ratios of amino acids, high levels of vitamins and minerals.
Growing meat under lab conditions would also reduce the chances of consumers contracting foodborne illnesses, such as salmonella and E. coli, while eliminating the need for antibiotics or hormones. These issues might not have seemed pressing under the EU's stringent food safety standards, but a potential trade deal with the US could change that. As for the potential health risks of swapping farm for lab? Theories about the dangers of "Frankenfoods" are speculative. That's not to say we should disregard them, but until the first products are put forward for regulatory approval, we simply won't have the data either way.
Next-Gen Power Plants
It's notable that cultured meats – though theoretically animal-friendly – are not generally targeted at vegans. "The promoters of cultured meat shouldn't care about attracting vegetarians," says Ben Wurgaft, author of Meat Planet, a comprehensive look at the lab meat phenomenon. "It's a case of convincing meat-eaters to consume a new form of meat." Or, to put it another way, that they can have their steak and eat it, after all.
These products might not have reached our plates yet – or even moved out of the R&D phase – but even the concept that we might need them one day should give omnivores food for thought. "It has the potential to make us question our existing meat-eating practices, which are, in historical terms, exceptional. We have an extraordinarily large human population, eating vastly more meat per capita than our ancestors," says Wurgaft. "It really is unsustainable."
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While it used to be a case of vegans versus non-vegans even a few years ago, it's now more widely understood that we should be united in our efforts to reverse the damage done by our global meat consumption – an idea reflected in the new breed of vegan meat substitutes, too. In an effort to target lifelong carnivores struck by a sudden crisis of conscience, bean burgers and lentil patties are being replaced by uncanny meat imitations.
Andy Shovel, co-founder of vegan food company This, is himself representative of this new kind of consumer. He gave up meat a year ago. "And I kind of hate it," he admits. "It's difficult. But I'm happy. I feel good about the decision."
His company's chicken substitute, made with soya and pea, has a very similar calorie and protein content to real chicken, and is eerily indistinguishable in terms of appearance and texture. The "chicken" is even fortified with vitamin B12 and iron to avoid what This's website calls "nutrient Fomo".
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Shovel says he was disappointed by "unconvincing substitutes" and wanted to prove he could do better. "When people try our products, it turns their preconceptions upside-down. They see how realistic plant-based products can be," he says. It seems to be working, too. In a recent video – recorded with hidden cameras as part of the company's YouTube-friendly guerrilla marketing campaign – This's chicken fooled 25 food critics and influencers.
What's more, Shovel claims the production process creates a 10th of the CO2 emissions involved in raising and slaughtering chicken and less than 2% of that caused by beef farming. It also boasts a longer shelf-life, reducing food waste.
Laudable though this is, his move away from conventional meat (Shovel and his co-founder Pete Sharman used to run a beef burger chain) wasn't motivated by ethics alone. It was strategic. "I think that in 50 years, meat consumption in the West will be quite niche. So, from a career perspective, we decided this industry is where we wanted to be," he explains.
Integration with the conventional meat market is all part of this plan. The brand's rotisserie "chicken" and vegan bacon recently went on sale at Thurston Butchers in Suffolk, a purveyor previously known for its award-winning pork sausages. "It is a strange concept," Shovel says. "But it's a win for us. It's validation."
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The Paradox of Man Food
One of the major obstacles in winning people over to "nu meat" is stigma. While research suggests that a third of us are currently making a concerted effort to reduce our intake of animal protein, that does leave a majority of people who are content with their current habits. There are also those who still associate meat – particularly red meat – with traditional masculine values. It's no coincidence that the term "soy boy" has become a catch-all insult for men perceived as too soft or politically liberal. A disdain for plant-based foods is often as ideological as it is authentic (for reference, see Piers Morgan performatively spitting his Greggs vegan "sausage" roll into a bin).
Companies such as Beyond Meat – a California-based start-up that was recently valued at £7bn – are finding ways to work around the stereotype. Its plant-based burgers launched in UK supermarkets last year, and much has been made of the fact that they are designed to "bleed" like an animal, even if that blood is only beetroot juice.
Beyond Meat also places its products where the meat-eaters already are, rather than attempting to entice them towards the vegan foods aisle or trendy pop-up restaurants. It recently announced a partnership with a branch of KFC in Atlanta, where it's now selling plant-based nuggets and wings as part of the chain's combo meal deals. KFC sold out in less than five hours and Beyond Meat saw its shares rise 5% overnight.
Carefully curated celebrity endorsements play their part, too. Beyond Meat has a roster of professional sportsmen – including NBA giants such as Shaquille O'Neal and trailblazing rock climber Alex Honnold – along with Snoop Dogg and Leonardo DiCaprio. As the antithesis of the feeble vegan stereotype, Arnold Schwarzenegger is perhaps the movement's most valuable supporter: in new documentary The Game Changers, he criticises the gender politics behind our diets. "This is great, great marketing for the meat industry, selling the idea that real men eat meat," he says in a clip from the film, "but you've got to understand, it's marketing. It's not based on reality."
Still, this is an area in which cultured meats quite clearly would have the advantage over soy burgers – however realistic or bloody. When asked why he chose to make use of in vitro technologies, rather than developing plant-based alternatives, Tetrick answered simply: "It's more likely that we'll be able to call it 'meat' that way. And we think the name is important."
Just as the rising popularity of plant milks (now used by a quarter of Britons) has sparked debate about what exactly constitutes "milk", so, too, are we seeing a similar process with meat. In the case of plant-based alternatives, it's about identifying what it is that we like about meat in the first place. The umami flavour? The balance of salt and fat? The texture? The way it sizzles in the pan? With cultured meats, it's about labelling guidelines: can beef be called beef if it was never a cow?
The Egg Came First
While it might be some time before we're tucking into Just chicken nuggets, the company does have stakes in the vegan food industry, too. Its first product, the Just Egg, is currently available in the US and online, with plans to launch in UK shops imminently. It congeals at the same temperature as a chicken's egg, with the same cooking time, and it has a similar gelatinous texture (mung bean protein), eggy smell (sulphur salt) and yolky hue (turmeric extract). Arriving at this formula, says Tetrick, was an exhaustive process.
Just's research team had to "source plants from 50 countries, bring them into the lab and look at their molecular properties: the structure of the protein, the functionality and the mouthfeel." It's far more chemistry that culinary.
With egg one of the most ubiquitous animal proteins on the planet, creating a passable replacement would be no small achievement. The Just Egg is now outselling many popular brands of what Tetrick terms "shelled eggs". Notably, he claims more than 70% of their consumers do not identify as vegan. "They're just thinking, 'How do I eat a little bit better?'"
Reactions from the meat and dairy industries would indicate that many view lab-grown meats as a genuine threat – or, for the more optimistic, an opportunity. "Investments in cultured meat research by some of the big meat companies suggest that they're interested in the feasibility of the technology," says Wurgaft. "And petitions by meat industry trade groups, such as the US Cattlemen's Association, that involve the labelling of potential cultured meat projects would suggest some groups are concerned about infringement on their markets, too."
So, does this spell the death of livestock? Ultimately, the question is this: will the vegan movement eventually plateau, or will it continue to grow? "The thing that's so interesting is that it's not a trend," Shovel says. "It has none of the hallmarks of a trend. It has all of the hallmarks of a permanent shift."
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Scarlett Wrench Scarlett Wrench is the Features Editor at Men's Health and she specialises in food and nutrition, mental health, science and tech.
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Only a Rank Degenerate Would Drive Across Texas Without Eating a Chicken Friend Steak
Source: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/nutrition/a30180807/lab-grown-meat/
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