Two-Thirds of Americans Would Try “Cultured Meat”

New research published in scientific journal PLoS One found that two-thirds of Americans would eat in-vitro meat (IVM)—or meat grown in a laboratory setting from a small number of animal cells, also known as “cultured” and “clean” meat. To gain insight into the US consumer attitudes toward IVM, researchers Matti Wilks and Clive J.C. Phillips collected data from 673 participants via online research tool Amazon Mechanical Turk between March and June of 2016. The study found that men and politically liberal respondents were more likely to consume IVM than women and politically conservative participants. Current meat-eaters, particularly those who identify as “pescetarian,” expressed a willingness to try IVM, however, those who abstain from meat showed less interest. “Vegetarians and vegans were more likely to perceive benefits compared to farmed meat, but they were less likely to want to try it than meat-eaters,” Wilks and Phillips said. This May, Israel-based food advocacy group The Modern Agriculture Foundation (in conjunction with US-based Good Food Institute) will host a conference entitled “The Path to Commercialization” in Haifa, Israel, wherein food technology experts will discuss how to effectively introduce clean meat to the general public. Silicon Valley-based company Memphis Meats announced plans to bring its slaughter-free meatballs, chicken, and duck to supermarket shelves as early as 2021.