The meat can be grown in a lab using just a few cells taken from an animal.

Heres what experts say about the future of cultivated, or lab-grown meat.

What Is Lab-Grown Meat?

A concept image of ground meat that has a label stating it was grown in a lab.

JIRAROJ PRADITCHAROENKUL/Getty

When you eat steak, you are eating the muscle of a cow.

Some animals also have other negative effects on the environment as well.

Cultivated meat is different.

Its not made by slaughtering an animal and butchering it into different cuts of meat.

The cells are housed in a medium that contains the nutrients that are needed to grow the meat.

The cells are kept in an environment that maintains the right temperature and oxygen level for them to multiply.

Through this process, tissue forms that can be harvested once it has grown big enough.

Theres also only so much meat you’re able to get from one animal.

The cells, on the other hand, can be used again to make more servings.

Is Cultivated Meat Vegan?

Lab-grown meat comes from muscle cells taken from living animalstherefore, its not meatless meat like plant-based proteins are.

Is Lab-Grown Meat Safe to Eat?

On November 16, the FDA ruled that cultivated meat is safe for human consumption.

To be clear, the agency is not endorsing or recommending that people eat cultured meat.

As of the end of November 2022, these meat products are not yet available commercially.

What Are The Benefits of Eating Lab-Grown Meat?

There are benefits to making meatespecially lean meatpart of a balanced diet.

Some meats also contain key fatty acids.

Ultimately, Whitney said the companys goal is to offer consumers meat with improved nutrient profiles.

In the long run, that could also lead to a smaller carbon footprint.

The Meat of the Future?

Food and Drug Administration.Human food made with cultured animal cells.

The Humane League.What is lab-grown meat, and how is cultured meat made?.

A review of recent (2010-2020) evidences.Food Res Int.

2020;137:109341. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109341

UPSIDE Foods.Our impact.

Lynch J, Pierrehumbert R.Climate impacts of cultured meat and beef cattle.Front Sustain Food Syst.