How is the Lab-Grown Sausage Made?

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then meat should feel proud. Billions have been invested in startups making plant-based imitations that try to mimic the tasty goodness of real meat. Now, hundreds of millions are pouring into startups to “grow” meat directly from animal cells, with one startup recently raising $170 million from investors. 

Singapore recently became the first country to allow lab-grown, or cell-cultured, meat to be sold, though supply is limited and prices are high. Now startups are pushing the federal government to approve its sale in the U.S. by the end of the year. 

Will consumers welcome this new development with open mouths? Polling finds anywhere from 20% to 80% of people would try it. Ultimately, cell-cultured meat may run into the “ick” factor. 

Consumer curiosity around meat alternatives has sizzled as plant-based “burgers” popped up in supermarkets and restaurants over the past couple of years. But fake meats have one major flaw: Their perceived healthfulness is a mirage.  

Plant-based meat imitations often have the same amount of calories and fat as real meat, and more sodium. In order to mimic the mouthfeel and taste of real meat, they use ultra-processed industrial ingredients such as methylcellulose and titanium dioxide. Real meat has one ingredient, but plant-based imitations can have more than 20. 

Due to the number of studies linking health problems to ultra-processed foods, many people want to avoid them. This is where cell-cultured meat, grown in factories from real stem cells from animals, comes in. 

Proponents claim that, while trickier to produce than a paste-like pea protein patty, cell-cultured meat can more precisely imitate the real thing because it has similar constituent parts (muscle and fat cells). 

On paper, it sounds nice. Proponents have dubbed it “clean” meat. But how does the growing process really work? 

Individual startups don’t reveal the details, given the processes for each company are proprietary. But publicly filed patents provide some insight into how the sausage is made, so to speak. 

A body is a complex biological system. To recreate a cow digesting grass and growing muscle that becomes a nice juicy steak, scientists have designed a process to imitate the natural function of hormones and other biological agents. 

In nature, this process is regulated internally by the animal. In a factory for growing meat from cells, cells are bathed in a stew of preservatives, hormones, and other growth factors. Antibiotics may be needed. In this artificial process, hormones and other chemicals are effectively additives, and the amounts and combinations can be tinkered with. And some of these additives raise cause for potential concern. 

A patent filed by the University of Missouri, one of the pioneer institutions in researching artificially grown meat, goes into detail about additives that could be used in lab-grown meat. 

They include growth factors, such as insulin-like growth factor, that have been linked to dry skin and retina swelling. Another agent, EDTA (disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), has some medical uses, but is also linked to kidney damage. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GSF), which stimulates stem cell production, can also cause chest pain and nausea. 

Are any of these additives currently used in lab-grown meat? It’s hard to say because companies consider these processes secret. And it’s unclear what the long-term effects of consuming them are. 

The framework for regulated cell-cultured meat is somewhat sketchy. The FDA and USDA in 2019 announced a partnership to regulate different stages of the process, with the FDA focused on cell growth, and the USDA focused on labeling. The agencies should require transparency from companies regarding what substances they use in growing cell-cultured meat.  

Consumers will be curious--but should be skeptical. Plant-based burgers’ supposed healthfulness has been blown apart by dietitians. Similarly, the touted environmental benefits of cell-cultured meat already don’t appear to hold water. One study calculated that producing lab-grown meat produces five times the emissions of real chicken, and nearly the same emissions as beef, which is often attacked by environmental activists. 

Sooner or later, we’ll all get a chance to try lab-grown meat for ourselves. But we may decide there’s no need to reinvent bacon. 

Will Coggin is the managing director of the Center for Consumer Freedom.