Cultivated meat
This POSTnote summarises the challenges and opportunities relating to the production, regulation and consumption of cultivated meat, also known as 'lab grown' meat.
Agriculture and environmentAnimal welfareClimate changeCountrysideFarmersFoodGeneticsManufacturing industriesRegulationResearch and innovation
Briefing
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58248/PN740
- Cultivated meat production could reduce the number of animals slaughtered for food. This could reduce antimicrobial use, land use and emissions of some greenhouse gases, such as methane. The Climate Change Committee has advised that UK meat consumption should reduce to meet net zero targets.
- UK research groups and cultivated meat companies are globally recognised, and in 2025 the UK became the first European country to sell cultivated meat in pet food.
- Technology, production costs and capacity, a lack of infrastructure, public acceptance and regulation are currently barriers to the widespread commercial availability of cultivated meat. The viability of the cultivated meat sector is still unclear.
- The social, economic and environmental implications of cultivated meat are uncertain, as the industry has not scaled. Few studies into potential challenges and opportunities for the rural economy exist. Examples of possible implications include job losses, loss of income, opportunities to supply the cultivated meat industry with ingredients and on-farm production.
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