Cellular agriculture was once heralded as a climate panacea and a revolutionary way to save the global food system by growing meat from animal cells in laboratories. Over a decade after the first lab-grown burger was publicly tasted in London, the industry has faced massive manufacturing hurdles, soaring costs, and political backlash. Environment | The Guardian reported on the trajectory of lab-grown meat, tracking its journey from initial hype to its current challenges.
The Rise and Stalls of Lab-Grown Meat
On August 5, 2013, researchers showcased the world’s first lab-grown beef burger at Riverside Studios in London, funded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and created by Professor Mark Post. Post used stem cells extracted from a living cow, cultivating them to form a 140g patty. Proponents believed the technology would slash greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the massive environmental costs associated with conventional cattle farming. The high-profile event triggered a wave of investment, pouring $3bn into the sector as startups attempted to replicate the process for chicken, pork, and fish.
Despite the initial frenzy, the physical products largely failed to materialize on a commercial scale due to exorbitant upfront manufacturing costs, high energy requirements, and difficulties producing sufficient quantities at an affordable price. Regulatory hurdles from agencies like the FDA and USDA added further delays. Political opposition also emerged, with conservative state governors in the US passing legislation to ban the sale or production of cultivated meat. Today, lab-grown meat is commercially available at only one store globally: Huber’s Butchery in Singapore.
Industry Challenges and Recent Developments
As the sector encountered a “trough of disillusionment,” key companies struggled to maintain operations. Believer Meats, which broke ground on a massive manufacturing plant in Wilson, North Carolina, ultimately filed for bankruptcy and shuttered the facility before production began. Venture capitalists and industry experts pointed to the difficulty of scaling complex technology prematurely. Furthermore, consumer acceptance remains a significant barrier, with surveys indicating that a large majority of Americans find cell-cultivated meat unappealing.
Remaining companies, such as Mission Barns, are adjusting their strategies by pivoting toward wholesale or blending cultivated fats with plant proteins. While some industry players are focusing on exclusive novelty items, others are working to gradually reduce production costs. The future of cellular agriculture now points toward a more modest, unflashy development phase rather than an immediate overhaul of the global meat supply.
The original long-form report was published in the September edition of Harper’s.
