MrBeast is one of the most talked about and watched content creators on the planet. And in one of his latest videos, the YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, chose to give some major airtime to lab-grown chicken.
In a YouTube video titled “$1 vs $1,000,000,000 Futuristic Tech!,” which has garnered more than 84 million views at the time of writing, Donaldson tours several companies that are developing pioneering technology to prepare society for the future. Alongside exploring sealed biospheres, bionic arms, jetpacks, and more, the YouTuber headed to Upside Foods to find out how lab-grown chicken is made.
Upside Foods
Lab-grown meat (also known as cultivated or cultured meat) is real meat made from animal cells instead of farmed animals. Many experts are calling it one of the most promising technologies in the world. In 2025, one market research report predicted that in the next decade, the industry could reach a value of $25 billion.
Exploring the future of meat
It works like this: cells are harvested from real animals (without killing them) and then fed nutrients in a bioreactor. The cells then multiply and start to form muscle and fat, which can be harvested as meat. Basically, it’s real meat, but it hasn’t been produced on a factory farm. This makes it a win for many people. In 2022, one study by OnePoll on behalf of Farm Forward suggested that 67 percent of Americans would be willing to try lab-grown meat.
Donaldson is one of them. During his visit to Upside Foods, the YouTuber got involved in the meat-making process, helping to “feed” cells with a mixture of protein, fat, and sugar.
Upside Foods
After explaining that lab-grown chicken has the potential to save more than 220 million chickens every single day, while also being disease-free, Donaldson declared the technology “too good to be true.” But when he blind taste-tested real chicken against lab-grown chicken, he couldn’t tell the difference. In fact, he guessed wrong, declaring the real chicken burger to be lab-grown.
The lab-grown meat industry is still relatively new (the first lab-grown burger debuted in 2013), but it has made some big progress in recent years. In 2023, it was approved for sale in the US for the first time.
“This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table,” said Uma Valeti, CEO of Upside Foods, at the time. “It’s a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future—one that preserves choice and life.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
