Meat grown in a laboratory raises many ethical questions for all consumers and provokes a wide range of opinion
The same can be said for the vegetarian and vegan communities who have been having their say on lab-grown or cell-cultivated meat, which was thrust into the spotlight after the Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched a regulatory programme for such products to make sure they are safe for consumers.
Proponents of cell-cultivated meat cite its production as being better for the environment and more humane, but critics argue it may have health risks and its creation is science run amok or ‘Frankenstein food’.
A Vegetarian Society spokesperson said: “Although we welcome the developments in this area, we would not classify it as vegetarian or vegan as obviously it is still meat.
“Whether an individual vegetarian or vegan would choose to eat, it would be up to them as there are many reasons why someone might choose those lifestyles.”
Vegetarians and vegans are not a monolith and within London’s respective communities there was a range of opinions when individuals were asked about cell-cultivated meat.
Kate Wilde said: “Not for me, personally, but I do feel this could be a game changer for animal welfare.”
Linda Clinker, however, said: “I’m all for it if it reduces animal suffering or slaughter.”
In Singapore, the United States, and Israel, the sale of cell-cultivated meat has already been approved for human consumption.
Last month, dog food containing meat grown in a lab went on sale in the UK for the first time.
Diane Roege said: “I’d definitely buy it to feed my cat as an alternative to traditional meat cat food.”
The question of whether cell-cultivated meat is viewed like milk, eggs or traditional steak by vegetarians is up for debate in the wider community, but the consensus of those asked erred towards viewing cell-cultivated meat as like traditional meat.
For vegans who don’t eat any animal products the refusal to even consider cell-cultivated meat was unanimous.
Lorna McAllister said: “Vegan. I would never eat any kind of meat. If marketed to carnivores it may ease some animal suffering.”
A running thread throughout the responses was that cell-cultivated meat is more humane and with the FSA looking to grant approval within two years, the British public may soon have a way of eating steak without an animal suffering.
Picture credit: Free to use from Pixabay
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