{"id":13372,"date":"2018-08-23T02:04:52","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T02:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=13372"},"modified":"2018-08-24T02:06:54","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T02:06:54","slug":"would-you-eat-meat-from-a-lab-consumers-arent-necessarily-sold-on-cultured-meat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/would-you-eat-meat-from-a-lab-consumers-arent-necessarily-sold-on-cultured-meat\/","title":{"rendered":"Would you eat ‘meat’ from a lab? Consumers aren’t necessarily sold on ‘cultured meat’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walter Johnson<\/a>, Arizona State University<\/a><\/em>; Andrew Maynard<\/a>, Arizona State University<\/a><\/em>, and Sheril Kirshenbaum<\/a>, Michigan State University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a busy summer for food-based biotech. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made headlines when it approved the plant-based \u201cImpossible Burger<\/a>,\u201d which relies on an ingredient from genetically modified yeast for its meaty taste. The European Union sparked controversy by extending heavy restrictions<\/a> on genetically modified organisms by classifying them as gene-edited crops.<\/p>\n

You probably heard less about a public meeting<\/a> hosted by the FDA on \u201ccultured meat\u201d \u2013 meats that don\u2019t come directly from animals, but instead from cell cultures. Lab-grown meats will be increasingly big news as they draw closer<\/a> to entering the marketplace. But research suggests that consumers may not readily accept<\/a> the idea of burgers sourced from a lab instead of a farm once they\u2019re widely available<\/a>. Would you?<\/p>\n

Opinion polls seem to indicate that public attitudes about cultured meat are currently all over the place, depending on who\u2019s asking and who\u2019s being asked. Overlooking the details may spell trouble for its acceptance in the U.S. and internationally.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n First cultured hamburger, before being cooked.<\/span>
\n World Economic Forum<\/a>, CC BY<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Out of the lab, onto the grill<\/h2>\n

This emerging biotechnology captured attention in 2013 with a live tasting of a lab-grown burger<\/a>, which had a US$330,000 price tag. Production has gone largely under the radar since then, but researchers and companies have been racing to lower the price<\/a> and, they say, are finally on the cusp of an affordable product.<\/p>\n

Production of cell-cultured meat involves retrieving a live animal\u2019s adult muscle stem cells<\/a> and setting them in a nutrient-rich liquid. Proponents claim future techniques could allow these cells to make many burgers<\/a> without collecting more cells from an animal. Groups of these multiplying cells eventually look like patties or nuggets because they grow around a \u201cscaffold<\/a>,\u201d which helps the meat take on a desired shape. The result is a product that looks and tastes like meat because it\u2019s made from animal cells, rather than plant-based products that lack animal tissue but try to look and taste like it.<\/p>\n

Because cultured meat doesn\u2019t involve livestock, and thus avoids the associated environmental impacts and ethical issues, it\u2019s been highly anticipated<\/a> by environmental groups, animal welfare advocates and some health conscious consumers. Producing cultured meat, it\u2019s claimed, could consume fewer natural resources, avoid slaughter and remove the need<\/a> for the growth hormones used in the traditional meat industry.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a name?<\/h2>\n

Before cell-cultured meat goes on the market, regulators need to decide what it can be called. Possible names<\/a> include \u201cclean meat,\u201d \u201cin vitro meat,\u201d \u201cartificial meat\u201d and even \u201calt-meat<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But opinions and critiques vary widely. Most notably, the U.S. Cattlemen\u2019s Association worries<\/a> that the term \u201cmeat\u201d will confuse consumers<\/a> since these products will directly compete with traditional farm-raised meat. The industry group prefers what are perhaps less-appetizing terms, like \u201ccultured tissue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jumping onto the \u201cclean eating<\/a>\u201d craze, the Good Food Institute \u2013 a nonprofit that promotes alternatives to animal-products \u2013 favors the term \u201cclean meat<\/a>,\u201d claiming the language evokes a positive image with consumers and may increase its acceptance.<\/p>\n

The Consumers Union \u2013 the advocacy arm of the magazine Consumer Reports \u2013 counters that the public wants to know how the product was made, requiring a more visible distinction<\/a> from farm-raised meat.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the American Meat Science Association \u2013 an organization focused on the science of producing and processing animal-based meat \u2013 worries that the term \u201cmeat\u201d may inaccurately suggest<\/a> that lab-grown protein is as safe and nutritious as traditional meat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This summer\u2019s FDA meeting sparked even more discussion<\/a> over labeling. The debate is reminiscent of the one over what to call non-dairy beverages<\/a>, like almond and soy \u201cmilk,\u201d that do not originate from an animal. <\/p>\n

Yet even as regulators and industry lobbyists spar over names, they are overlooking a far more important factor in the viability of lab-grown meat: consumers.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n Who\u2019s most likely to show up at a cookout with cultured meat?<\/span>
\n Zac Cain\/Unsplash<\/a>, CC BY<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everyone has an opinion<\/h2>\n

In Michigan State University\u2019s Food Literacy and Engagement Poll<\/a>, we surveyed over 2,100 Americans in 2018 asking, \u201cHow likely would you be to purchase foods that look and taste identical to meat, but are based on ingredients that are produced artificially?\u201d We intentionally didn\u2019t use terms like \u201ccultured meat\u201d and \u201clab-grown meat\u201d to avoid influencing the response based on a particular term.<\/p>\n

We found just one-third of Americans would be likely to purchase cultured meat, with the other two-thirds veering toward caution. Forty-eight percent told us they\u2019d be unlikely to buy this product. The question did not provide much detail about cell-cultured meats, so our results represent a general reaction to the idea of purchasing \u201ctraditional\u201d versus \u201cartificial\u201d meat.<\/p>\n

When we split the poll results out by income, participants in households earning over $75,000 per year were nearly twice as likely to say they\u2019d purchase cultured meat (47 percent), compared to those in households earning less than $25,000 per year (26 percent). It seems that the more people earn, the more likely they are to switch from being undecided about cultured meat to being willing to give it a try. But the proportion who said they were unlikely to try cultured meat didn\u2019t vary much at all as income rose.<\/p>\n