The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the green light for the controversial product, which is backed by Bill Gates, earlier this week.
The United States has become the second country in the world to approve “cell-based” chicken for public consumption, joining Singapore, who legalized the experimental food in 2020. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the green light for the controversial product, which is backed by Bill Gates, earlier this week.
Billed as a major tool in the fight against “climate change,” so-called “cultivated chicken” is grown in a lab. The costly process involves extracting stem cells and giving them a nutrient-dense bath in vitamins, minerals, salt, and even soy inside a steel bioreactor. An average batch takes about two weeks to harvest.
Proponents argue that the controlled, indoor environment ensures sanitation standards are more easily met, and that the alleged harmful effects of raising animals on a farm are avoided entirely. Critics question not only its moral aspects but its purported nutritional benefits as well.