FDA Approves Lab-Grown Meat For Consumption
A meat sample submitted to the FDA by Upside Foods has been deemed safe to easy by the agency, marking a significant milestone toward making lab-grown meat readily available and accessible to the masses.
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved lab-grown meat for human consumption. It is the first product to receive approval from the notoriously stringent administration. This approval marks a significant milestone for companies and supporters of lab-grown meat.
Although cultured meat is not yet for sale in groceries stores, it is now deemed safe to eat. The FDA released a statement on the controversial approval announcing that it has no issues or questions about the safety of the new type of meat.
The cultured meat was submitted for FDA approval by Upside Foods. This company uses animal cell culture technology to grow the meat. The production procedure involves taking living cells from livestock like chickens and growing them in a controlled environment to make the meat substitute.
Eating lab-grown meat removes the use of traditional slaughterhouses that some animal cruelty advocates deem brutal and unkind to animals. Despite several US companies working on the technology, this is the first time it has been approved for consumption, and it will only be a matter of time before it is stocked in food stores nationwide.
Upside Foods released a statement displaying the company’s delight at the ground-breaking approval. Also, several animal rights companies have shown their delight at the step away from slaughtering animals for food, including the group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. They said they are happy that the FDA is on board in taking steps away from killing animals.
While this approval means that lab-grown meat is closer than ever to hitting our stores, it still needs approval from several departments, including the US Department of Agriculture.
For the US Department of Agriculture to grant approval, it will need its Food Safety and Inspection Service to inspect the manufacturing establishment to ensure the facility is up to standard. Only then will Upside Food be deemed safe to mass produce this product.
The FDA has announced that it is not Upside Food that they are ready to collaborate with in the hope that this new food technology will expand and grow. They will receive and review numerous other food production companies’ submissions for lab-grown food.
The advocates of this new type of meat state that this approval means one day, we will no longer have to eat meat that contains drugs, stabilizers, and other chemicals. This lab-grown meat is also cruelty-free, which will delight many consumers. This food is already approved for human consumption in other countries, such as Singapore.
Due to overpopulation, the amount of livestock needed to feed everyone in the world is enormous, and farmers are incapable of keeping up. The approval of this lab-grown meat means that farms no longer need to be over-farmed and do not need to overproduce slaughtered livestock. It gives people who like meat the option to try something that does not involve killing another animal. While many people may be hesitant to try something that sounds so foreign to humans, it will help the pressure we have now put the earth’s resources under, so it is at least worth a try.
