Lab-grown chicken sounds like something straight out of a Black Mirror episode, but the future is a lot closer than you might think.
A press release shared earlier in the week proudly declared that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved for sale chicken made from cultivated cells. Two California-based companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, have received the go-ahead to produce "slaughter-free" meat for restaurants and eventually grocery stores.
“I’m thrilled to share that cultivated meat will now be available for consumers in the U.S.,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, Upside’s CEO and founder, in a statement. “This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table...We are excited to launch with our signature, whole-textured Upside chicken and can’t wait for consumers to taste the future.”
The lab-grown chicken, which was created as a more sustainable alternative to traditional meat, is made using cells obtained one of three ways: from a living animal, a fertilized egg, or a special bank of stored cells.
"Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat, when speaking with the Associated Press.
Before the product makes its way to restaurants across the country, it will first appear on the menu at Dominique Crenn's Bar Crenn in San Francisco and China Chilcano, a Washington, D.C. restaurant owned by José Andrés.
For those who wouldn't mind enjoying a coconut curry dish made with lab-grown chicken, there is one potential setback: the price. When the lab-grown chicken does make it to grocery stores—which could take seven to 10 years—it would likely sell for $20 per pound, according to the Associated Press. Reports claim that we can expect to see cultivated meat at restaurants and small retailers in the next two to five years.
Danielle Harling is an Atlanta-based freelance writer with a love for colorfully designed-spaces, craft cocktails and online window shopping (usually for budget-shattering designer heels). Her past work has appeared on Fodor’s, Forbes, MyDomaine, Architectural Digest and more.
