Page 106 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

lab-grown fare is still in its infancy as far as commercially
available products, its future looks favorable. Also known as
“cultured meat,” “cultivated meat,” “cell-based meat,” and
“clean meat” (it seeks to be the “clean energy” of the meat
world), this is meat that comes from animal cells. They get cul-
tured in a laboratory and molded into the shape and function
of traditional forms of meat, from burger patties and chicken
nuggets to fillets of fish and pieces of duck. Although it can
sound a little creepy, the numbers are compelling: This new-
fangled method could involve up to 96 percent less water, 99
percent less land, and up to 96 percent fewer greenhouse gases
compared with conventional meat production (according to
a major environmental impact study done by researchers at
University of Oxford and the University of Amsterdam in 2011).
Long term, we still need a culture shift to bring us col-
lectively to think of at least beef like we do lobster—a
special-occasion treat, an indulgence. But from my perspec-
tive, just as electric cars are a stepping-stone away from our
overreliance on single-occupancy vehicles, clean meat offers
a promising short-term bridge toward easing us off our diets’
current overreliance on red meat.

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