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It’s hard to imagine that the chicken that comes to the table was created in the laboratory. It came from farms, birdhouses or even the “supermarket”, we all knew it. But meat produced from animal cells? It is the new reality of sustainable food production, which will soon enter restaurants in Singapore, the first country in the world to authorize the commercialization of this “organic” meat, avoiding the slaughter of animals.
The announcement was made by the American company Eat Just, based in San Francisco, which also becomes the first in the laboratory meat industry to receive government approval.
For now, the product will only arrive in the form of “nuggets” – chicken breads – or snacks, explained the Singapore Food Safety Agency, which guarantees that, after a thorough analysis, it concluded that the food is fit for consumption.
A small step for Man, but a giant one for those who, for decades, have fought to end the livestock industry, which in addition to being accused of animal cruelty, leaves a huge ecological footprint.
To sell in Singapore, the company created the “Good Meat” brand. “This is a historic moment in the food industry,” Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, told the US newspaper “The New York Times.” “I am sure that the approval of the regulation for cultivated meat will be the first of many,” he added.
Price equal to premium chicken
Singapore’s Food Safety Agency has included “cultured or cell-based meat grown under controlled conditions” in its definition of novel foods, along with some species of algae, fungi and insects, the newspaper said.
Production has been the biggest barrier, since it is complex and expensive, which makes the product more expensive. However, Eat Just said it has made “considerable progress” in reducing the cost.
The laboratory nuggets will hit the market at a price similar to that of “premium chicken in a sophisticated restaurant,” explained Tetrick, the France Press news agency.
It now remains to be seen whether other countries will follow Singapore’s avant-garde example. Livestock is responsible, each year, for approximately 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the emissions of all cars, trucks, planes and ships combined.
The consumption of meat has been classified as an environmental threat, as livestock produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. On the other hand, deforestation to make way for animals destroys natural barriers against climate change, as exemplified by what has been seen in the Amazon, in South America.
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