The environmental burden of meat cultivation is higher than that of animal husbandry

Since 2020, when Singapore was the first in the world to allow the trade of meat grown in a reactor, the global scientific community has been studying this product comprehensively, including the environmental aspects of its manufacturing technology. The report of American researchers is published on the bioRxiv platform. Supporters of growing beef from stem cells tout their method as environmentally friendly and carbon neutral, but this is a controversial argument, its authors argue.

Indeed, animal husbandry requires significant resources: first of all, land for grazing and growing fodder, clean water and electricity. Herds, farms and meat processing plants emit greenhouse gases. At the same time, the cultivation of meat in reactors also requires water, electricity, as well as amino acids, sugars, growth stimulants and other components of the nutrient medium, which must be periodically cleaned. 

Producers are now producing cultured meat in small batches and with economic losses, but companies offering the world a laboratory alternative are increasingly expressing their intention to switch to industrial production, the report notes. For a feasibility study of the potential environmental impact, the authors analyzed the cell culture life cycle using the Essential 8™ method. The results showed that in the short term, the impact of industrial meat cultivation on the environment is likely to be several orders of magnitude higher than the damage from the production of natural beef.