Meat cultures: Lab-grown meat and the politics of contamination

Murray, A. Gregory

doi:10.1057/s41292-017-0082-z

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The event was simulcast on the web and included a celebrity chef livecooking the burger, a 3-person tasting panel, and a live studio audience. 10 At this event, Post estimated that if the process can be scaled up it would take 10-20 years to produce "beef", likely still at relatively high cost. 11 Memphis Meats made meatballs from cultured meat at $18,000 per pound in 2016. sees it as kind of predictive lenses into the future.…”

Section: Cultured Meatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative meats and alternative facts

Eenennaam

2023

AABP Proceedings

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The alternative animal product arena is complex and quite varied. Some plant-based alternative meat products are derived entirely from plants. Other entrepreneurs are using cultivated cells of animal origin to derive a product structurally similar to meat and milk and comprised of animal proteins. Many of these endeavors use a combination of both approaches with the plant-based product providing filler for the cultivated meat or milk product. Most of the discussion around alternative meats has focused on bovine alternatives because of the iconic position of cattle in many climate and sustainability discussions. A considerable amount of capital has been raised based on the envisioned market share of these products, although estimates vary widely, and the high profile initial public offering of Beyond Meat shares in May 2019 which saw share prices soar from $75 to $235, has this year seen share prices plummet to about one-tenth of that highest price. Proponents of alternative meats suggest these production systems are more sustainable based on anticipatory greenhouse gas emission (GHG) and land use life-cycle assessment (LCA)/kilogram (kg) of product, as compared to LCA metrics for ruminant meat. Much of the rationale invokes a simplistic narrative around GHG/kg of protein. The GHG “sustainability” metric will invariably reflect poorly on ruminants as they are uniquely able to digest cellulose through their rumen microbes, and the methanogens produces methane which is a potent but short-lived greenhouse gas. And because ruminants are typically grazing in marginal land unsuitable for producing crops, they also have a high land use m2/kg of protein. However, there is no reason to conclude that food production on well-managed pasture and rangeland is, a priori, less sustainable than food production of well-managed arable cropland. Moreover, the other sustainability externalities of ruminant meat production systems such as the provision of ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation, the consumption of inedible food waste and cellulose, manure, transportation, contributions to the livelihoods and food security of 1.3 billion livestock keepers, the fact that meat provides nutrients in addition to protein, and that existing harvesting systems utilize everything but the “moo” are often ignored or simply disregarded.

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Section: Cultured Meatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative meats and alternative facts

Eenennaam

2023

AABP Proceedings

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“…Several papers turn critical attention to how different actors such as the meat and milk alternative industry and its funders (Murray 2018;Sexton et al 2019;Stephens et al 2018a, b;Morris et al 2019), academia and media (Stephens 2013;Jönsson 2016;O'Riordan et al 2017;Stephens and Ruivenkamp 2016;Goodwin and Shoulders 2013;Dilworth and McGregor 2015;McGregor and Houston 2018;Buscemi 2015), or the meat industry (Keefe 2018;Bonny et al 2015;Boler and Woerner 2017) construct the promissory narratives in their discursive and material practices. These studies show how the promise of meat and milk alternatives is presented as one of 'techno-salvation', nothing less than a kinder, healthier, fairer, tastier, safer, and more sustainable food system for all (Sexton et al 2019).…”

Section: Promissory Narratives and Tensions On Marketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies show how the promise of meat and milk alternatives is presented as one of 'techno-salvation', nothing less than a kinder, healthier, fairer, tastier, safer, and more sustainable food system for all (Sexton et al 2019). Fuentes and Fuentes (2017) show how milk alternatives draw on similar ethical and ecological justifications as alternative food networks; whereas Murray (2018) investigates how engineers of new foodstuffs incorporate ethics into them as a means to pave the way for wider public acceptance. Especially in relation to cell-based alternatives, which exist so far more as fictions than tangible foodstuffs (Sexton et al 2019;Mouat and Prince 2018), it is easy to see why the promises have also gained academic attention as an empirical object of study.…”

Section: Promissory Narratives and Tensions On Marketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, these narratives build upon the notion that meat and milk are necessary components of human diets. Murray (2018) relates how at a tasting event for the cultured meat burger, advocates drew on human evolutionary history and psychology in establishing humans as a meat-eating species. This narrative works to normalize the high rates of meat consumption as the natural predisposition of humans.…”

Section: Promissory Narratives and Tensions On Marketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Promises of meat and milk alternatives: an integrative literature review on emergent research themes

Lonkila

Kaljonen

2021

Agric Hum Values

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Increasing concerns for climate change call for radical changes in food systems. There is a need to pay more attention to the entangled changes in technological development, food production, as well as consumption and consumer demand. Consumer and market interest in alternative meat and milk products—such as plant based milk, plant protein products and cultured meat and milk—is increasing. At the same time, statistics do not show a decrease in meat consumption. Yet alternatives have been suggested to have great transitional potential, appealing to different consumer segments, diets, and identities. We review 123 social scientific journal articles on cell-based and plant-based meat and milk alternatives to understand how the positioning of alternatives as both same and different in relation to animal-based products influences their role within the protein transition. We position the existing literature into three themes: (1) promissory narratives and tensions on markets, (2) consumer preferences, attitudes, and behavioral change policies, (3) and the politics and ethics of the alternatives. Based on our analysis of the literature, we suggest that more research is needed to understand the broader ethical impacts of the re-imagination of the food system inherent in meat and milk alternatives. There is also a need to direct more attention to the impacts of meat and milk alternatives to the practices of agricultural practices and food production at the farm-level. A closer examination of these research gaps can contribute to a better understanding of the transformative potential of alternatives on a systemic level.

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“…An optimistic climate assumes that additional irrigation is not required to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Optimistic food assumes that 100% of the people are fed, 10% of our calories come from alternative food sources, such as lab-created meat [40], insect protein [41], high protein seaweed [42], and food waste is halved. Transformative agriculture innovation assumes that water productivity of agriculture is increased through new management strategies: deficit irrigation, or vertical farming, or largescale greenhouse implementation.…”

Section: Objective 4: Exploring Alternative Technological Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pathway for Sustainable Agriculture

2021

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Expanding populations, the impacts of climate change, availability of arable land, and availability of water for irrigation collectively strain the agricultural system. To keep pace and adapt to these challenges, food producers may adopt unsustainable practices that may ultimately intensify the strain. What is a course of technological evolution and adoption that can break this cycle? In this paper we explore a set of technologies and food production scenarios with a new, reduced-order model. First the model is developed. The model combines limitations in the sustainable water supply, agricultural productivity as a function of intensification, and rising food demands. Model inputs are derived from the literature and historical records. Monte Carlo simulation runs of the model are used to explore the potential of existing and future technologies to bring us ever closer to a more sustainable future instead of ever farther. This is the concept of a moving sustainability horizon (the year in the future where sustainability can be achieved with current technological progress if demand remains constant). The sustainability gap is the number of years between the present and the sustainability horizon. As demand increases, the sustainability horizon moves farther into the future. As technology improves and productivity increases, the sustainability horizon is closer to the present. Sustainability, therefore, is achieved when the sustainability horizon collides with the present, closing the sustainability gap to zero. We find one pathway for water management technology adoption and innovation that closes the sustainability gap within the reduced-order model’s outputs. In this scenario, micro-irrigation adoption, minimal climate change impacts, reduced food waste, and additional transformative innovations such as smart greenhouses and agrivoltaic systems are collectively needed. The model shows that, in the absence of these changes, and continuing along our current course, the productivity of the agricultural system would become insufficient in the decade following 2050.

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Meat cultures: Lab-grown meat and the politics of contamination

Cited by 6 publications

References 22 publications

Alternative meats and alternative facts

Alternative meats and alternative facts

Promises of meat and milk alternatives: an integrative literature review on emergent research themes

A Pathway for Sustainable Agriculture

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