10 Facts About Cell-Cultured Chicken That Doesn’t Need Any Animal to Die to Produce Your Nuggets

It’s your birthday, and your friend, who’s the laziest person alive, gets you a chicken burger as a present.

You’re disappointed, but also incredibly hungry, so you chow down.

Minutes later, after you’ve gobbled up the entire thing, your friend tells you that the chicken you just ate was made in a lab, and no chicken was killed to feed your carnivorous nature.

Would you be nauseated, amazed, or too confused to be either?

As crazy as it sounds, restaurants in Singapore could start serving cell-cultured chicken to diners very soon.

Made by Californian start-up Eat Just, the bite-sized chicken chunks will be manufactured in Singapore, said CEO Josh Tetrick.

So, what exactly is cell-cultured chicken? Is it safe to eat? Is it healthy? What does it taste like?

Here are 10 facts about cell-cultured meat, which you could see on your plates in the near future:

It’s Meat, But Not Really

When it comes to cultured meat, the stuff you’re eating comes from an animal,  but it isn’t actually a chunk of the animal.

The cultured meat-making process is actually rather scientific.

First, muscle samples are collected from an animal.

Then, technicians collect stem cells from the tissue and multiply them, allowing them to differentiate into primitive fibers that then grow to form muscle tissue.

Then, this muscle tissue is combined with fat cells and additives for texture, flavour, and colour, according to Forbes. 

So, what you’re eating is technically meat, but not really.

The First Lab-Grown Patty Was Made in 2013

In 2013, when Miley Cyrus came in like a wrecking ball, the first lab-grown beef burger was made.

Mark Post, of Maastrich University in the Netherlands, created a patty made up of 20,000 individually-grown muscle strands, all from the lab.

It was tasted in a London restaurant by several people.

One “food expert” said it was “close to meat, but not that juicy” and another said it tasted like a real burger.

Its Effect on Greenhouse Gases is Unclear

Some claim that the process of growing meat in a lab is better for the environment, but others aren’t so sure.

According to Maastrich University, livestock farming for meat is responsible for nearly 18% of all greenhouse emissions, more than all global transport combined.

On the other hand, some studies have claimed that cell-cultured meat could actually accelerate climate change more than regular beef does.

Why?

Well, while traditional farming methods produce a lot of methane, a greenhouse gas, the cultured meat process produces a more harmful greenhouse gas – carbon dioxide.

Studies on cultured meat in the past made a false equivalency between the two gases, but methane only lasts in the atmosphere for a dozen years. Carbon dioxide, though, lasts more than a century.

So, whether or not cultured meat is better for the environment is unclear.

It Can Greatly Reduce Our Water Usage

While it’s unknown if the cultured meat process actually cuts down on greenhouse gases, what’s certain is that it’s great for our water conservation efforts.

According to Eco-Business, growing meat in a lab uses up to 96% less water than traditional agricultural methods.

See, in order to keep animals on a farm healthy and hydrated, farmers must have access to large amounts of fresh water.

And since the demand for meat is expected to grow, this water consumption could increase to unsustainable levels.

But won’t lab-grown meat require the same number of animals?

In short, no.

It Produces Much More Meat 

Another advantage of growing meat in the lab is that it yields much more than the farm.

According to Maastricht University in the Netherlands, cells from a single cow can produce 175 million quarter-pounders, while traditional farming methods would need 440,000 cows.

And with global meat demand expected to increase by 73% by 2050, cultured meat could not have come at a better time.

It’s Less Prone to Contamination

Since it’s grown in a lab, cultured meat isn’t subject to practices on modern farms that taint meat.

Elaine Siu, managing director of The Good Food Institute Asia Pacific, said almost all  conventional meat is the “product of both artificial insemination and massive doses of growth-promoting drugs.”

Conversely, cultured meat doesn’t involve slaughter, requires no antibiotics, and doesn’t suffer from contamination.

Which leads us to this:

It May Be Healthier Than Real Meat

Some might be a little repelled by meat that’s made in a lab, but according to a Washington Post report, it could be healthier than real meat.

For one, cultured meat is produced in sterile environments, meaning they would be free of dangerous bacteria.

Secondly, heme iron, which is found almost exclusively in meat, and can be a potential carcinogen, isn’t present in lab-cultured beef or pork.

The report didn’t mention anything about chicken, however.

Saturated fat, which is the culprit in meat that raises the level of bad cholesterol, will also be removed from cultured meat.

The health benefits of cultured meats are still not completely clear, however, as it’s a relatively new product.

All Cultured Meat Won’t Have Bones

Some people always ask for boneless Chicken Rice, while others enjoy the feeling of biting into an animal because it takes them back to the good old days of 500 BCE.

To the dismay of some and joy of others, cultured meat won’t have any bones or skin.

Rather, it’ll look like our beloved chicken nuggets.

While the absence of bones means no more bone broths, kids and older adults may find it easier to eat.

It Has Been Deemed Safe By the SFA

If you’re worried about toxic chemicals or other harmful additives, you’d be relieved to learn that the cell-cultured chicken by Eat Just has been deemed safe by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

Under SFA’s guidelines, a food product will be deemed safe if it can be consumed by a significant human population as part of their diet for at least 20 years without reported adverse health effects.

So, if the SFA says it’s safe, it’s safe.

The agency said it will continue to review the safety assessments of these alternative protein products scientifically and consult experts to safeguard food safety and public health.

It Might Be Expensive

In 2008, when growing meat in a lab still sounded like the plot of a science fiction novel, the production cost was about US$1 million (S$1,337,660) for 250 grams of beef, according to Times of India.

Thankfully, this has since reduced.

In 2017, the cost of production of lab-grown beef was around $5,280 for a kilogram.

But it’s currently still more expensive than growing conventional meat.

For that reason, the Eat Just CEO believes their chicken bites would probably cost as much as “premium chicken customers would enjoy at a restaurant” when first sold in Singapore.

But production costs are already a third of what they were last year, and will continue to fall as production is scaled up, he said.

So, what do you say? Will you bite into a lab-grown chicken nugget?

Featured Image: MK studio / Shutterstock.com