What is Still Not Known about Lab-Grown Meat?

What is still not known about lab-grown meat? Quite a couple of things, if we must be truthful. Every novelty usually pulls along its unknowns which can take quite a while to unravel.

Thankfully, experts are doing their best at ensuring excellence for the cultured meat industry. They are also leaving no stone unturned as consumers become more and more intentional about what they eat and will not hesitate to ask even the darkest of questions about a product.

In this article, we will examine some of the unknowns and grey areas that surround lab-grown meat.

Its Nutritional Value

Lab-grown meat is pretty much protein and fat. But then, what are the specifics, and what else is added to the composition? Scientists are still not sure, especially as to how its nutritional value compares with conventional meat, and what effect, positive or negative, the laboratory production and artificial additives may have on health.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that the unique health challenges that lab-grown meat may present (if at all) aside, consuming too much lab-grown meat is likely to cause as many health challenges as will consuming too much of conventional meat. Animal-derived protein is known to raise body cholesterol levels. When consumed in very high proportions, therefore, it could risk heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

Generally, lab-grown meat is expected to have similar health impacts as conventional meat. However, a deeper comparison of the production procedures for both kinds of meat proves that lab-grown meat could be safer since it is produced in a very controlled environment. It is therefore less likely to spread infectious diseases and acquired health problems from drugs and chemicals farm animals consume.

Some experts also believe that over time, cultured meat may evolve so well that it can be "customized" to meet the specific nutritional needs of people. That is, fat and iron concentrations, for example, could be adjusted to provide healthier meats. At the same time, no one is sure yet what implications doing this will have on the final taste and outlook of the meat since these ingredients in their right proportions are part of what gives each kind of meat its unique taste.

Its Religious Acceptance

Some religious groups frown at eating meat altogether. Would that mean lab-grown meat is also out of the menu for faithfuls of these groups? We are not sure. There are several justifications attached to why meat is exempted from some religious diets, even for the religious groups that only frown on eating certain kinds of foods.

It may be the way the animal was slaughtered, if it contained blood or not, the type of animal, the body part specifics, or the other kind of food it is served with. With so many complexities involved, it is hard for anyone, and sometimes, even for members of these religious sects to determine if eating cultured meat is a pristine act.

Another tricky side is that while scientists can offer suggestions and try to make considerations for these religious groups in their production processes, only religious authorities can truly decide what is sin and what is not.

That said, a lot of religious enthusiasts are still keeping their hands folded. On the other hand, religious leaders do not seem to be in a rush to give recommendations which could mean a future of acceptance for lab-grown meat. However, some decisions may never need to be debated, especially for religious that avoid eating meat from certain animals. Muslims, for example, would not eat pork because it is considered halal. The question of eating lab-grown pork or not is therefore not one to be debated for them.

Vegan or Not?

Similar to the grey areas that surround the religious acceptance of lab-grown meat, diet pickers are also itching to know if lab-grown meat would be considered a vegan or vegetarian diet. However, there is no straightforward answer to this question, and this explains why it is quite tough to make a stance on it.

How anyone would consider lab-grown meat to be vegan or not would depend on the individual’s personal justification for going the vegan way. A vegan who has a thing against the consumption of any kind of animal meat may not be inclined to include cell-based meat in their diet. On the other hand, a vegan who only frowns at animal cruelty or the slaughter of animals may fancy lab-grown meat since it is meat that is without animal slaughter.

These days, also, it is no longer uncommon to find people going vegan due to health reasons. For these people, their reason for kicking a food off their menu would be its nutritional composition – the presence or absence, or excessiveness of a certain nutrient. This set of people will most likely not find lab-grown meat worthy of making it to their menu if conventional meat does not.

Will Lab-Grown Meat Become Globally Accepted?

Trends have shown that cultured meat has met with quite an encouraging embrace since the first news of it made it to the internet. However, no one can really say yet if it will indeed make it to global acceptance and when it will.

Of course, as with every novelty, some form of reluctance is expected. But considering the many complexities surrounding cultured meat production, especially ethical and religious concerns, it may take a while for acceptance to become evenly distributed across the globe. In fact, it should be no surprise if the product gets banned in certain countries due to religious or ethical concerns.

While lab-grown meat is already regulated for sale in very few countries, most countries still show indifference to it while some are already on their way to drafting it in by instituting regulating bodies and state-of-the-art laboratories to investigate its processes.

Conclusion

Since the first ever edible lab-grown burger was manufactured in 2013, the whole world has been curious to know more about this chewable work of biotechnology. With each passing day, discoveries are made and grey areas are being cleared. Nevertheless, many questions are still left unanswered. Of course, answers to these questions will soon be known, and in the nearest future, lab-grown meat would become a staple arranged on grocery store shelves, just like you’d have cereals, fresh fruits, and chocolate bars.