Get Ready, It’s Coming
“As demand for meat, poultry, and seafood increases, the need for nutritious protein, increased productivity, and a more diversified supply chain will soon be greater than ever before. Meeting these needs will require innovative solutions… One solution is animal cell-based/cultured technology, which allows innovators to produce additional meat, poultry, and seafood options for consumers, complementing an array of conventional products already on the market.”
The excerpt above came from a letter sent to USDA Food Safety Under Secretary on Monday urging cell-based or cultured meat labels “that foster transparency, consumer confidence, and a level-playing field.” So, the intent of the letter, in theory, is good. If and when lab grown meat comes to the American market, we certainly want it to be clearly labelled as such.
The concerning part of this letter is obviously that the writers believe lab grown meat is one solution to meet the growing demand for nutritious protein. Now, to reveal the writers might shock you… and make the first concern seem somewhat minimal.
The letter was signed by “an industry coalition representing the makers of cell-based/cultured meat, poultry, and seafood,” according to a press release from NAMI – the North American Meat Institute, or the packers club. Joining the organization which represents the nations’ meat processors was the Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation (AMPS Innovation). The latter should come as no surprise, but I find it interesting that NAMI publicly stated their belief that lab-grown meat is a solution of the future.
NAMI represents the largest meat producers in the country. From the beginning and still today, the one and only product keeping NAMI members afloat – and quite successful, I may add – is real meat. Now the group seems to be ushering in a new technology to grow a ‘competing product’ in a lab from a single cell, fed and incubated until it resembles a nice, juicy steak.
At first, I want to be mad. But on second thought, I don’t know that I blame them either. Should cell-based meat make it to the market and resemble a protein that could even begin to compete with our real product, the big packers are going to want their hand in that cookie jar. They don’t want the competition… unless, of course, it’s from within in their own company. So now their suggestion that cell-based meat could be a solution makes more sense.
It also makes me ponder the kind of future companies like JBS and Tyson Fresh Meats are predicting for lab-grown protein products. The AMPS Innovation website states, very confidently, that within “the next several years” products from their companies – Finless Foods, JUST, Memphis Meats, New Age Meats, and others – are expected in U.S. restaurants and grocery stores. In the letter, the two groups even suggest the products will be ready for market entry before a final rulemaking is issued for labeling standards.
The processing level of our supply chain and the nation’s largest processors of meat appear to be expecting a swift and successful market introduction for lab-grown meats. I myself, don’t know about successful. But I do know, that we had better be ready very soon to make sure their market entry is fair. We can no longer push these products to the back burner (no pun intended) and think of them as a futuristic dream. There’s big money and big support behind their market entry, I believe they’ll make their debut. I also know, however, that when cell-based meat does hit the store shelves it won’t stand as competition against real beef, chicken, lamb, or pork. But we must make sure lab-grown proteins are differentiated on the grocery shelves, so the science experiment doesn’t tarnish our hard earned reputation.