Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

1 hour ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

1 hour ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

4 hours ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

21 hours ago

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

21 hours ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

1 day ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

2 days ago
Would You Eat a Burger with Meat Grown in a Laboratory?
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
July 9, 2019

Share

EMERYVILLE — Uma Valeti slices into a pan-fried chicken cutlet in the kitchen of his startup, Memphis Meats. He sniffs the tender morsel on his fork before taking a bite. He chews slowly, absorbing the taste.
“Our chicken is chicken … you’ve got to taste it to believe it,” Valeti says.

“You are ultimately going to continue the choice of eating meat for many generations to come without putting undue stress on the planet.”Uma Valeti, co-founder, Memphis Meats
This is no ordinary piece of poultry. No chicken was raised or slaughtered to harvest the meat. It was produced in a laboratory by extracting cells from a chicken and feeding them in a nutrient broth until the cell culture grew into raw meat.
Memphis Meats, based in Emeryville, is one of a growing number of startups worldwide that are making cell-based or cultured meat. They want to offer an alternative to traditional meat production that they say is damaging the environment and causing unnecessary harm to animals, but they are far from becoming mainstream and face pushback from livestock producers.
“You are ultimately going to continue the choice of eating meat for many generations to come without putting undue stress on the planet,” said Valeti, a former cardiologist who co-founded Memphis Meats in 2015 after seeing the power of stem cells to treat disease.
The company, which also has produced cell-grown beef and duck, has attracted investments from food giants Cargill and Tyson Foods as well as billionaires Richard Branson and Bill Gates.

Cell-Based Protein More Sustainable Than Traditional Meat

A report released in June by consulting firm A.T. Kearney predicts that by 2040, cultured meat will make up 35 percent of meat consumed worldwide, while plant-based alternatives will compose 25 percent.
“The large-scale livestock industry is viewed by many as an unnecessary evil,” the report says. “With the advantages of novel vegan meat replacements and cultured meat over conventionally produced meat, it is only a matter of time before meat replacements capture a substantial market share.”
But first, cultured meat must overcome significant challenges, including bringing down the exorbitant cost of production, showing regulators it’s safe, and enticing consumers to take a bite.
“We’re a long way off from becoming a commercial reality because there are many hurdles we have to tackle,” said Ricardo San Martin, research director of the alternative meat program at the University of California, Berkeley. “We don’t know if consumers are going to buy this or not.”
As global demand for meat grows, supporters say cell-based protein is more sustainable than traditional meat because it doesn’t require the land, water and crops needed to raise livestock — a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Many consumers would love to eat meat that doesn’t require killing animals, said Brian Spears, who founded a San Francisco startup called New Age Meats that served its cell-based pork sausages to curious foodies at a tasting last September.

Photo of lab grown hamburger
Would you eat meat that was grown genetically instead of extracted from a slaughtered animal? (Twitter/@MemphisMeats)

Industry Moved a Step Closer to Market

“People want meat. They don’t want slaughter,” Spears said. “So we make slaughter-free meat, and we know there’s a massive market for people that want delicious meat that doesn’t require animal slaughter.”

“The ocean is a very fragile ecosystem, and we are really driving it to the brink of collapse. By moving human consumption of seafood out of the ocean and onto land and creating it in this cleaner way, we can basically do something that’s better for everybody.” — Michael Selden, CEO, Finless Foods
Finless Foods, another startup in Emeryville, is making cultured fish and seafood. It’s produced cell-based versions of salmon, carp and sea bass, and it’s working on bluefin tuna, a popular species that is overfished and contains high levels of mercury. The company has invited guests to sample its cell-based fish cakes.
“The ocean is a very fragile ecosystem, and we are really driving it to the brink of collapse,” CEO Michael Selden said. “By moving human consumption of seafood out of the ocean and onto land and creating it in this cleaner way, we can basically do something that’s better for everybody.”
The emerging industry moved a step closer to market in March when the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration announced plans to jointly oversee the production and labeling of cell-based meat.

Memphis Meats Hopes to Sell Cell-Based Meat Within Two Years

If cultured-meat companies use genetically modified cells, they would face even greater scrutiny from consumers and government regulators, Hanson said.
Cell-based meat companies also face resistance from U.S. livestock producers, who have been lobbying states to restrict the “meat” label to food products derived from slaughtered animals and have been raising questions about the safety, cost and environmental effect of cultured meat.
“There’s still many, many unknowns about these cell-based products,” said Eric Mittenthal, vice president for sustainability at the North American Meat Institute. “We really don’t know if it’s something consumers will accept from a taste perspective. We don’t know if it’s going to be affordable.”
Uma Valeti at Memphis Meats said he wants to help educate people about the benefits of cell-based meats and eventually open up its production facility to show people how its meat is made.
The company is focused on reducing the cost of cultured meat and producing larger quantities. A plate of chicken that used to cost tens of thousands of dollars to produce can now be made for less than $100, Valeti said.
Memphis Meats hopes to sell its cell-based meat within the next two years, starting with restaurants, then moving into grocery stores, assuming it passes USDA and FDA inspections.
“We’re actually preserving the choice of eating meat for people,” Valeti said. “Instead of saying, ‘Give up eating meat or eat a meat alternative,’ we’re saying continue eating the meat that you love.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

DON'T MISS

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

DON'T MISS

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

DON'T MISS

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

DON'T MISS

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

DON'T MISS

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

DON'T MISS

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

DON'T MISS

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

DON'T MISS

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

UP NEXT

Newsom and Legislature Tangle With Construction Unions Over Minimum Wage

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

UP NEXT

SoCal Vice Mayor Urges Street Gang ‘Cholos’ to Rise Up Against ICE

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

1 hour ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

1 hour ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

1 hour ago

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

3 hours ago

Fourth of July Celebrations Begin Saturday. Here’s Your Fresno Area Guide

4 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

18 hours ago

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

19 hours ago

Convicted Felon Caught With Guns, Ammunition in Fresno Bust

19 hours ago

Fresno Advocates Want Respect for Immigrants, Defend Miguel Arias

19 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

Starting Tuesday, Fresno Unified trustees will receive a $100 monthly raise — without lifting a finger. On Sept. 18, 2019, the trustees u...

37 minutes ago

37 minutes ago

Fresno Unified Trustees Will Get Automatic Raises on Tuesday

1 hour ago

Alleged ‘Fake’ ICE Agents Charged. Fresno Court Date Set

Olga Urbina carries baby Ares Webster as demonstrators rally on the day the Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments over U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to broadly enforce his executive order to restrict automatic birthright citizenship, during a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

In Win for Trump, US Supreme Court Limits Judges’ Power to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the press after a hearing on the use of National Guard troops amid federal immigration sweeps, at the California State Supreme Court in San Francisco, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters FIle)
1 hour ago

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

fresno
1 hour ago

Motorcycle Collides With Tractor in Fatal Fresno County Collision

Ringo Is GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 27, 2025
1 hour ago

Ringo Is Ready to Rock Your World With ‘Pawsitive’ Vibes!

Calwa_Empty_Pool_1280x720
3 hours ago

Calwa Park Sitting on $7.4M in Grants. Where is New Pool, Other Upgrades?

Teisha Zonnette Thomas is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for June 27, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Teisha Zonnette Thomas

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend