Pets have large carbon paw prints. For all the joy they bring, pets have a sizeable impact on the environment.
It is estimated that around one fifth of the meat produced globally is fed to domesticated animals, meaning Fido is unwittingly contributing to climate change and biodiversity loss. But not for much longer, perhaps. Two disruptors in the field of food technology have launched a business to bring cultivated pet food to shelves in the UK and Europe. Cultivated meat is grown in labs from cells without the need to raise and slaughter animals.
The upstart firm, dubbed Good Dog Food along with other science partners are focusing on an untapped sector of the agricultural market – the production of pet food via cellular agriculture. Lab-grown meat for human consumption has already made it to the human market in Singapore, where diners can eat chicken, safe in the knowledge that no animal was harmed in the process.
Compared with conventional chicken, the lab-grown chicken in Singapore needs 78 per cent less water, 95 per cent less land, and emits 92 per cent fewer CO2 emissions, according to Eat Just, the firm behind it. With livestock accounting for an estimated 14.5 per cent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, many believe that there is an urgent need to take conventional meat off the menu.
However, whether lab-grown meat is the answer remains to be seen. Cost and scalability are major hurdles for the industry – lab-grown meat is still significantly more expensive than the regular stuff and harder to produce in significant quantities. There is also the issue of regulatory approval, although this should be easier for pet food especially if their targeted consumer is human consumption. Much of the research is being done in Europe, the UK, Israel and Singapore. Although the companies creating lab-created meat believe that North America will be the first major market.
Just what is lab-grown meat?
Lab-grown meat is a miracle of modern science. Scientists can harvest a small sample of cells from a living animal and cultivate the sample to grow outside of the animal’s body, shaping the fully formed sample into cuts of meat. Fish fillets, hamburgers, and bacon would all have the same taste and texture consumers know and love, and no animals would need to be bred, confined, or slaughtered to create these real meat products.
Is lab-grown meat actually meat?
The short answer is, yes! Lab-grown meat is real meat. It has the exact same animal cells as what we traditionally consider “meat”—the flesh of an animal. The difference has to do with how it gets to your plate: lab-grown meat comes from cells harvested from a living animal, while conventional meat comes from an animal that’s raised and killed for human consumption.
This is an evolving science and new food industry. In Singapore, diners in restaurants say “it tastes just like chicken.” Which in this case is quite a compliment. The real test is whether we and our canine family will like it.
[Additional reading on Lab-grown meat]