The advent of cultured meat has stirred a lot of curiosity and raised numerous questions. Asking if vegetarians can ethically eat lab-grown meat is one of such questions. Recently, we attended to a concern about vegans eating cell-based meat. Because the principles guiding vegans and vegetarians are different, it will be improper to make a uniform conclusion for both groups.

Vegetarians vs Vegans

Vegetarians typically abstain from eating meat, but will likely consume other animal products such as dairy, egg, fish, and other seafood. Vegans on the other hand would generally abstain from consuming all kinds of animal products be it meat or dairy, egg or fish. However, there have been different classifications of vegetarians and it is no longer uncommon to find vegans who consume one or two animal product types and exclude the others. In fact, vegetarianism is sometimes considered a sub-sect of veganism.

Usually, most persons who are vegetarians do so for religious reasons or out of respect for the sentient animal life. You will also find sects that are vegetarians for these reasons. Yet, most abstain from some kinds of animal products because of the health risks associated with their frequent consumption. Moreover, many believe a plant-based diet would offer more nutrition than an animal-based one.

What is Cultured Meat?

Lab-grown meat, also known as cultured meat, cell-based meat, and lab meat is meat produced by in vitro cultivation of animal cells. That is, cells are removed from an animal and then made to grow out of the animal’s body to produce meat. The production of cultured meat is done in laboratories or food plants and not on animal farms like in the conventional animal rearing technique.

With a combination of other factors such as a nutrient-rich medium that enhances growth, and the addition of some proteins, the result of this process is meat that looks and tastes like conventional meat. Actually, lab-grown meat is strictly animal meat too since it is grown from animal cells.

Can Vegetarians Eat Cultured Meat?

Since lab-grown meat is still meat, it is not vegan in that sense. However, most vegetarians do not avoid meat simply because it is sourced from animals (after all, many will eat egg or dairy), they do so mostly out of their respect for animal life.

The process involved in bringing conventional meat to the table involves rearing animals on farms and then slaughtering them, shedding their blood, and retrieving the meat. Most vegans are not comfortable with this and believe animals deserve more than all that cruelty.

If that is the case, lab-grown meat may be an ethical option for vegetarians. However, not all meat grown in labs may fit into this category. Cultured meat is typically produced in two distinct ways which are determined by how the cells are sourced.

Some companies source their cells from a minute slice of tissue out of a particular part of the animal. This method does not take the animal's life and does not cause as much pain as that of a slight incision. We believe a good percentage of vegetarians concerned about animal cruelty should be comfortable consuming lab-grown meat sourced this way.

The other option is to source cells from Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). FBS is considered the most viable material for in vitro cell growth. However, this serum comes from the blood of an animal fetus and will inevitably stop the fetus’ growth.

Although there are no solid agreements, this method is considered animal slaughter to some and has raised concerns among vegetarians.

With all being said, it would appear that vegetarians may need to be choosy with the kinds of lab-grown meat they'd go for if at all they consider the prospects of consuming it. While eating meat is a matter of personal choice, we consider lab-grown meat the option to consume meat products with the least occurrence of animal cruelty.