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Americans certainly have a thing for chicken, chowing more chicken than pork and beef. In 2022, the average American ate about 98.9 pounds of broiler chicken.
That amounts to more than 8 billion chickens being killed every year.Yet that could soon change. In November 2022, the Food and Drug Administration made a historic ruling, for the first time giving a company, Upside Foods, the green light to produce lab-grown poultry.Just four months later, it did the same for Good Meat, which has been selling its lab-grown chicken in Singapore.
Safe is one thing, but healthy is another, which may be why you’re wondering if you should put lab-grown chicken on your plate. Simply put, yes.
What Is Lab-Grown Meat?
Whether you call it lab-grown, cultivated or cultured meat, the terms mean the same, namely that the tissue or meat product was grown in a lab. “When we grow cells in the lab, we refer to the process as ‘cell culture’ where we cultivate or expand the cells to increase the amount we have,” saysRosalyn Abbott, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering in Pittsburgh, who’s co-leading a project to produce meat without sacrificing an animal.
Here’s how it works. Lab-grown chicken starts with cells extracted from an egg or live animals. Scientists then evaluate and test those cells, selecting ones that will produce meat that most resembles chicken and can create even more cells.“This meat is constructed to have the same composition, architecture, texture and flavor of traditional meat products,” Abbott says. The cells are then put into stainless-steel vats reminiscent of those found in breweries. For the next several weeks, the cells feed on nutrients and grow until they’re ready to be harvested and shaped into what appears on your plate.
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Is It Safe to Eat?
In its approval for Upside, the FDA wrote that “[w]e evaluated the information UPSIDE Foods submitted to the agency and have no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusions.” In other words, lab-grown chicken is safe to eat.
Yet from a chronic disease and health perspective, the verdict isn’t so clear. “Like any other meat, it may come with the same potential hazards since it is still animal protein,” saysDana Ellis Hunnes, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., senior clinical dietitian at the UCLA Medical Center, assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and author ofRecipe for Survival.Those hazards include increasing inflammatory markers and being associated with an increase in cancer risk and/or tumor growth.
Lab-Grown Chicken vs. Farmed Chicken
Because it’s made from the cells of chickens, the lab-grown version should have a similar texture and taste to farmed chicken. That means you can use it in dishes just as you would farmed chicken, Hunnes says.
But what about the protein content? Lab-grown chicken may have more protein than traditionally grown chicken. “Because it’s produced in a lab, scientists can control what’s being grown, including how much fat versus meat there is,” she says. That’s not the case with farmed animals, whose living conditions (which Hunnes describes as abhorrent and stressful), lack of exercise and inability to engage in natural behaviors affect the chickens’ health and, thus, their meat.
Might this mean then that lab-grown chicken is healthier than farmed chicken? Not necessarily. “Animal proteins still contain certain levels of amino acids, some of which may be more inflammatory than others (those found in higher levels in plant foods), and those amino acids could potentially be detrimental,” Hunnes says.
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The Pros of Lab-Grown Meat
Experts see numerous benefits with lab-grown chicken. Here are four.
The Cons
There are, though, a few downsides to lab-grown chicken, including the following two.
So Should You Eat Lab-Grown Chicken?
Yes, especially given all of the positives behind it. And while it may seem strange to think of meat being grown in a lab, “it’s the same thing as eating meat that was grown traditionally in a chicken,” Abbott says. Chicken is such a staple in the American diet that one day it will probably even seem normal to eat lab-grown chicken versus traditionally grown chicken.
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The Bottom Line
Frequently Asked QuestionsCultured meat is derived from the cells of animals. Plus, some of the mediums that are used to grow lab-grown meat come from animals. Because vegans don’t eat or use anything with animals, lab-grown chicken is not vegan.To a point, it is real chicken. “It’s cells from a chicken that have been reproduced at the cellular level to make more chicken cells so it is real chicken,” Hunnes says.When lab-grown meat lands in grocery stores, which is anybody’s guess when that will happen, the USDA will require that Upside Foods and Good Meat label their products “cell-cultivated chicken.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Cultured meat is derived from the cells of animals. Plus, some of the mediums that are used to grow lab-grown meat come from animals. Because vegans don’t eat or use anything with animals, lab-grown chicken is not vegan.
To a point, it is real chicken. “It’s cells from a chicken that have been reproduced at the cellular level to make more chicken cells so it is real chicken,” Hunnes says.
When lab-grown meat lands in grocery stores, which is anybody’s guess when that will happen, the USDA will require that Upside Foods and Good Meat label their products “cell-cultivated chicken.”
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Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Animal Clock.Questions and Answers.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration.FDA Completes First Pre-Market Consultation for Human Food Made Using Animal Cell Culture Technology.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration.FDA Completes Second Pre-Market Consultation for Human Food Made Using Animal Cell Culture Technology.
UPSIDE Foods.Cultivated meat. It’s science (but not rocket science).
Good Food Institute.Cultivated meat media kit.
UPSIDE Foods.What do you know about the environmental benefits of cultured meat production?
The Associated Press.Lab-grown meat isn’t on store shelves yet, but some states have already banned it.
Missouri Independent.Was that chicken cutlet grown in a lab? These states want you to know.
