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Beyond Traditional Meat Production: Is Lab-Grown Meat the Way Forward?

Beyond Traditional Meat Production: Is Lab-Grown Meat the Way Forward?

Discussions of healthy, sustainable eating are becoming more and more frequent in current times. The consumption of meat is a big part of that, and it’s not all that surprising when you release just how much animal product, we consume each and every year. The average American consumes a huge 7,000 animals in their lifetime[1], and the equivalent of 800 hamburgers per year[2]. There are campaigns and programs in place to try to reduce this, of course. Meat-free Mondaysare increasingly popular, and the number of people identifying as vegan in the US has risen by a massive 600% in the last three years[3]. But what if there was another way? Companies such as Memphis Meats and Just say that there is another way. A better, cleaner way, but a way that still allows us to enjoy meat products. How? By growing meat in the laboratory. 

 Sustainable Meat

A spokesman from Memphis Meats explained that “Americans spend roughly $90 billion per year – just on chicken. But while poultry products are delicious and satisfying, the process by which they are made is not. It involves environmental degradation, animal welfare concerns, and public health risks”[4]. Lab grown meat aims to overcome those fewer appealing characters of meat eating. The meat itself is grown from animal cells rather than the actual animal. The cells can even be taken from feathers, so the animal is not harmed in any way, and the meat is not grown into a whole animal, but merely pieces of meat[5]. This process makes use of technology that, while not new, is only now beginning to be used for the production of meat, and it aims to take away the negatives of traditional meat farming. Californian based company Just aims for its products to be cheaper, healthier, and more popular than traditional meat[6], but there are some things standing in their way at the moment. 

 


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The Alternatives to a strict Vegetarian/Vegan Diet are Semi-Vegetarian or Flexitarian Diet
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The Alternatives to a strict Vegetarian/Vegan Diet are Semi-Vegetarian or Flexitarian Diet

Whether becoming a vegetarian is a moral choice relating to the environment, a contentious choice over animal rights, or a simple desire to eat a in a healthier manner, it is not always easy to make the transition to a completely plant based diet after a lifetime of consuming animal products. Many people are choosing to start their transition with a flexitarian diet as they move toward vegetarianism; others are opting simply to be flexitarian. Many people are looking for a way to enjoy eating a healthier diet, one that allows them to feel good about themselves, their food choices and still feel satisfied with their meals. For some a flexitarian diet is one way of achieving all these goals. Flexitarians are people who favor a mostly vegetarian diet, but who will still occasionally eat meat. The health benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets are well touted and wonderful, but some people find the meals too restrictive, especially in the beginning.

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