Singapore Approves Cell-Cultured Chicken Bites – Who Will Be The First To Try It?

Meat grown from animal cells without slaughter has been approved for sale for the first time. The approval, granted by the Singapore Food Agency to US food company Eat Just for its cultured “chicken bites”, is a watershed moment for the future of meat.

Unlike existing products, which mimic meat with plant-based ingredients, cultured meat will provide us with a new way of doing the real thing. In addition to avoiding the slaughter of animals, cultured meat could be key to addressing public health problems related to animal meat and has only a fraction of the environmental impact of conventional meat. Although not as green as eating only plants, cultured meat can be a way to satiate our global appetite for animal meat without all the hassle that raising animals brings.

The technology has been in development for many years, and NASA first experimented with cultured meat in 2001. More than a decade later, in 2013, tasters sampled the world’s first cultured meat burger at a press event in London. . At the time, the quality was rudimentary – tasters said that despite having a distinctly meaty taste, the product lacked texture and especially fat, problems the industry has been trying to solve ever since. More importantly perhaps, the prohibitively high costs meant that commercialization seemed a long way off; At the time, the burger was reported to cost $ 280,000.

Since then, scientists have made great strides to make cultured meat a reality. Millions of dollars in investment have been invested in the dozens of new cultured meat companies in Asia, Europe and America. Scientists have overcome many technical barriers, from developing cell lines to refining bioreactors and identifying a sustainable medium for growing meat. Following news of the approval in Singapore, it is not unlikely that other countries will follow suit – regulatory discussions are already well underway in Europe and the US.

Once cultured meat is approved for the market, the next big question concerns consumers: who will want to eat cultured meat and how can more people be persuaded to embrace the future of food? These questions have been the subject of my PhD research, and the data leaves me cautiously optimistic about consumer adoption of cultured meat.

Eat animals

Although most people eat meat, many are not comfortable with the way animals are used on factory farms and most consider veganism to be more ethical and better for the environment.

This baseline level of ambivalence about eating animals may explain quite high levels of interest in cultured meat: Surveys indicate that more than half of European consumers want to try cultured meat, and around two-thirds of Americans. In Asia, where cultured meat will be sold for the first time, public acceptance is even higher.

Not everyone agrees with the concept: Research has found that some consumers are concerned about food safety and may view cultured meat as unnatural. Many of these fears appear to be associated with food neophobia (fear of new foods). These concerns appear to be more common in older, less educated, and more conservative consumers. That said, religious scholars have indicated that cultured meat could be approved as kosher and halal, indicating potential appeal to religious groups.

Even those who are open to trying cultured meat are unlikely to adopt it in the long run unless it is affordable and passes the most important taste test. Eat Just has said that while its cultured chicken, the first of its kind, is currently an expensive high-end product, cultured meat is likely to be cheaper in the long run than animal meat. Consumers in Singapore will decide if chicken bites pass the taste test, but the Eat Just demos have left journalists impressed.

All of these things are likely to improve over time. Not only will farmed meat products get better and cheaper as technology advances, but consumers will likely see it as more palatable the more they become familiar with it. Consumers are likely to view the Singapore Food Agency’s approval as an important sign of safety and quality, further reinforcing acceptance.

Taste and price are key

In addition, the data suggests that cultured meat can attract consumers, which plant-based alternatives do not satisfy. Those who consume plant-based meat alternatives are more likely to be women and likely already have tendencies to cut down on meat. In contrast, cultured meat tends to attract men more, especially heavier meat eaters.

While some may view cultured meat as unnatural, the biggest meat lovers are generally the most excited to try it. Therefore, the technology has the potential to substantially reduce the demand for conventional meat, possibly much more than meat of plant origin.

In the long term, getting the price and taste right is critical for consumers to embrace cultured meat. There is some level of food neophobia, and not everyone will be an early adopter, but acceptance of cultured meat will likely increase over time as familiarity increases and products become better and cheaper.

The science of cultured meat has made great strides in the last decade, from proof of concept to approval for sale to the public. This seal of approval is an important milestone for technology and an important signal to the world that cultured meat is not only safe, but feasible and could play an important role in the future global protein landscape.