Singapore approves sale of lab-grown meat, makes history with Eat Just
Singapore has granted regulatory allowance for the sale of lab-grown meat.
The Asian country’s government gave its stamp of approval to the San Francisco-based startup, Eat Just Inc., which has been growing meat from animal muscle cells. Eat Just will begin selling its lab-grown chicken bites under a new GOOD Meat brand, according to a news release issued Monday.
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“This is the first time in history that meat – without requiring the killing of an animal – has been approved. Singapore is the very first country to do it,” Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick told FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto on Tuesday.
When it comes down to the science behind the company’s lab-grown meat, Tetrick said: “We took a cell from a chicken, we identified nutrients that feed the cell. And then we manufacture it in a piece of equipment called a bioreactor, and you’re able to make chicken with much fewer carbon emissions, a whole lot less land and a whole lot less water. We think it will be the future of meat.”
A date for its official launch will be disclosed at a later time. However, the Singapore Food Agency is overseeing regulation for the explorative food production method.
There have been more than 20 production runs in 1,200-liter bioreactors to test the lab-grown meat, which is antibiotic-free and is said to be just as nutritious if not more than real chicken.
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In recent years, plant-based meat substitutes have grown in popularity with companies such as Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Quorn leading the charge. Eat Just has a plant-based egg product known as Just Egg as well, which is made from mung beans and vegan mayonnaise, but its lab-grown meat venture is meant to provide real meat without the slaughter of animals.
If proven to be successful, the company’s GOOD Meat brand could become a protein alternative for health-conscious consumers and anyone else who might be concerned about animal rights, the environment and ethics of the meat industrial complex.
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Eat Just has raised more than $300 million in investments since its founding in 2011 and is valued at around $1.2 billion, according to Reuters.
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