For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer "lab-grown" meat to the nation's restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.

The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn't come from slaughtered animals — what's now being referred to as "cell-cultivated" or "cultured" meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.

The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste.

"Instead of all of that land and all of that water that's used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way," said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.

Video below: A study offers a warning related to the production methods of lab-grown meat as it relates to the environment

The companies received approvals for federal inspections required to sell meat and poultry in the U.S. The action came months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration deemed that products from both companies are safe to eat. A manufacturing company called Joinn Biologics, which works with Good Meat, was also cleared to make the products.

Cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks, using cells that come from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells. In Upside's case, it comes out in large sheets that are then formed into shapes like chicken cutlets and sausages. Good Meat, which already sells cultivated meat in Singapore, the first country to allow it, turns masses of chicken cells into cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat and satays.

But don't look for this novel meat in U.S. grocery stores anytime soon. Cultivated chicken is much more expensive than meat from whole, farmed birds and cannot yet be produced on the scale of traditional meat, said Ricardo San Martin, director of the Alt:Meat Lab at the University of California Berkeley.

The companies plan to serve the new food first in exclusive restaurants: Upside has partnered with a San Francisco restaurant called Bar Crenn, while Good Meat dishes will be served at a Washington, D.C., restaurant run by chef and owner Jose Andrés.

Company officials are quick to note the products are meat, not substitutes like the Impossible Burger or offerings from Beyond Meat, which are made from plant proteins and other ingredients.

Video below: Lab-grown meat could have a worse carbon footprint than animal agriculture, UC Davis study says

Globally, more than 150 companies are focusing on meat from cells, not only chicken but pork, lamb, fish and beef, which scientists say has the biggest impact on the environment.

Upside, based in Berkeley, operates a 70,000-square-foot building in nearby Emeryville. On a recent Tuesday, visitors entered a gleaming commercial kitchen where chef Jess Weaver was sauteeing a cultivated chicken filet in a white wine butter sauce with tomatoes, capers and green onions.

The finished chicken breast product was slightly paler than the grocery store version. Otherwise, it looked, cooked, smelled and tasted like any other pan-fried poultry.

"The most common response we get is, 'Oh, it tastes like chicken,'" said Amy Chen, Upside's chief operating officer.

Good Meat, based in Alameda, operates a 100,000-square-foot plant, where chef Zach Tyndall dished up a smoked chicken salad on a sunny June afternoon. He followed it with a chicken "thigh" served on a bed of potato puree with a mushroom-vegetable demi-glace and tiny purple cauliflower florets. The Good Meat chicken product will come pre-cooked, requiring only heating to use in a range of dishes.

Chen acknowledged that many consumers are skeptical, even squeamish, about the thought of eating chicken grown from cells.

"We call it the 'ick factor,'" she said.

The sentiment was echoed in a recent poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Half of U.S. adults said that they are unlikely to try meat grown using cells from animals. When asked to choose from a list of reasons for their reluctance, most who said they'd be unlikely to try it said "It just sounds weird." About half said they don't think it would be safe.

But once people understand how the meat is made, they're more accepting, Chen said. And once they taste it, they're usually sold.

"It is the meat that you've always known and loved," she said.

Cultivated meat begins with cells. Upside experts take cells from live animals, choosing those most likely to taste good and to reproduce quickly and consistently, forming high-quality meat, Chen said. Good Meat products are created from a master cell bank formed from a commercially available chicken cell line.

Once the cell lines are selected, they're combined with a broth-like mixture that includes the amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, salts, vitamins and other elements cells need to grow. Inside the tanks, called cultivators, the cells grow, proliferating quickly.\

Video below: A cultivated meat company recently used mammoth DNA to create a meatball, but it's not available for consumption

At Upside, muscle and connective tissue cells grow together, forming large sheets. After about three weeks, the sheets of poultry cells are removed from the tanks and formed into cutlets, sausages or other foods. Good Meat cells grow into large masses, which are shaped into a range of meat products.

Both firms emphasized that initial production will be limited. The Emeryville facility can produce up to 50,000 pounds of cultivated meat products a year, though the goal is to expand to 400,000 pounds per year, Upside officials said. Good Meat officials wouldn't estimate a production goal.

By comparison, the U.S. produces about 50 billion pounds of chicken per year.

It could take a few years before consumers see the products in more restaurants and seven to 10 years before they hit the wider market, said Sebastian Bohn, who specializes in cell-based foods at CRB, a Missouri firm that designs and builds facilities for pharmaceutical, biotech and food companies.

Cost will be another sticking point. Neither Upside nor Good Meat officials would reveal the price of a single chicken cutlet, saying only that it's been reduced by orders of magnitude since the firms began offering demonstrations. Eventually, the price is expected to mirror high-end organic chicken, which sells for up to $20 per pound.

San Martin said he's concerned that cultivated meat may wind up being an alternative to traditional meat for rich people, but will do little for the environment if it remains a niche product.

"If some high-end or affluent people want to eat this instead of a chicken, it's good," he said. "Will that mean you will feed chicken to poor people? I honestly don't see it."

Tetrick said he shares critics' concerns about the challenges of producing an affordable, novel meat product for the world. But he emphasized that traditional meat production is so damaging to the planet that it requires an alternative — preferably one that doesn't require giving up meat altogether.

"I miss meat," said Tetrick, who grew up in Alabama eating chicken wings and barbecue. "There should be a different way that people can enjoy chicken and beef and pork with their families."

Hide Transcript
Show Transcript

THE SPLIT, A NINE MINUTE RIDE. LETICIA, THANK YOU SO MUCH, BRIAN. NEW THIS MORNING, LAB GROWN MEAT MADE FROM ANIMAL CELLS IS THOUGHT TO BE BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. BUT A NEW STUDY FROM UC DAVIS SHOWS THAT LAB GROWN MEAT COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE A WORSE CARBON FOOTPRINT. JOINING US LIVE WITH THE DETAILS OF THIS NEW STUDY IS ONE OF THE AUTHORS, EDWARD SPANG. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. HAPPY TO BE HERE. EDWARD, TELL US THE TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM THE STUDY. YEAH. SO WE CONDUCTED A STUDY AND IT SHOWS THAT THERE’S A RISK THAT CULTURED MEAT ACTUALLY MIGHT BE WORSE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IN SOME SITUATIONS THAN ANIMAL AGRICULTURE. MUCH OF THIS RISK IS THAT IF WE’RE USING PRODUCTION METHODS, TYPICAL OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY, IT REQUIRES REALLY RESOURCE INTENSIVE INGREDIENTS TO GROW THIS MATERIAL. THEN IF WE GROW IT IN SORT OF A FOOD FOOD PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT. WERE YOU SURPRISED BY WHAT YOU LEARNED WHEN YOU STARTED STUDYING THIS? DID YOU THINK THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE OUTCOME? YOU KNOW, WE CONDUCTED THE STUDY BECAUSE WE REALLY WANTED TO DIG INTO WHAT THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY LOOKS LIKE. A LOT OF THE STUDIES THAT ARE OUT THERE ARE VERY FORWARD LOOKING, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE TECHNOLOGY MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN 5 OR 10 YEARS. BUT WE WERE CURIOUS AS TO WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW. AND AGAIN, OUR RESULTS SORT OF SHOWED THAT THERE COULD BE A RISK OF IT BEING WORSE THAN ANIMAL AGRICULTURE. BUT WE RAN A NUMBER OF SCENARIOS AND IN SOME SCENARIOS IT DID PERFORM BETTER THAN ANIMAL AGRICULTURE. SO THE STUDY OVERALL ISN’T REALLY AN ENDORSEMENT OF ONE OR THE OTHER. IT’S JUST A SORT OF A CAUTIONARY TALE THAT IF WE DON’T TRACK THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY, WE MIGHT END UP IN A SITUATION WHERE WE’RE PRODUCING SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY IS WORSE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. HOW COMMON IS LAB GROWN MEAT RIGHT NOW? ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE ABLE TO PURCHASE IT AND CONSUME IT? AS WE SPEAK? IT’S NOT REALLY IN THE MARKETPLACE AT THIS POINT. I BELIEVE THERE’S ONE RESTAURANT IN SINGAPORE THAT’S SELLING CHICKEN NUGGETS WITH SOME LAB GROWN MEAT IN IT, BUT IT’S THE ENTIRE PRODUCT IS NOT LAB GROWN MEAT. AND IT’S VERY, VERY LIMITED IN ITS DISTRIBUTION RIGHT NOW. AND WHAT GOES INTO DOING A STUDY LIKE THIS? HOW MANY RESOURCES AND TIME DID YOU HAVE TO DEVOTE TO GET YOUR RESULTS? THIS STUDY ACTUALLY QUITE A BIT OF TIME. I WORKED WITH ONE OF MY GRADUATE STUDENTS, DEREK REISNER. HE DID A WONDERFUL JOB OF REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS OF OF CULTURED MEATS AND THINKING ABOUT ALL THE INPUTS AND OUTPUTS REQUIRED IN THE PROCESS. SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT INPUTS, I’M THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE INGREDIENTS THAT GO INTO FEED THESE ANIMAL CELLS. AND THAT’S GLUCOSE FOR ENERGY. SOME AMINO ACIDS TO GROW PROTEINS. AND WHEN YOU TRACK ALL THE INGREDIENTS GOING IN TO FEED THESE CELLS, IT’S QUITE RESOURCE INTENSIVE TO THINK ABOUT ALL THE FOOD WE NEED TO GROW TO FEED THE ANIMAL CELLS AND AS COMPANIES ARE THINKING ABOUT DOING THIS, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST? THAT TO LIMIT THE CARBON FOOTPRINT WHEN PRODUCING THESE PRODUCTS? WELL, AS I SAID, THE INGREDIENTS ARE A MAJOR DRIVER HERE. SO WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE FEED THESE CELLS AND WHAT THEY’RE REALLY GOING TO REQUIRE IS A LOW COST INGREDIENT MIX THAT IS, YOU KNOW, NOT VERY RESOURCE INTENSIVE, BUT ALSO LOWERS THE RISK OF POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATE EATING THE BAT. WE REALLY WANT TO GROW THESE CELLS UNDER OPTIMAL CONDITIONS AND WE NEED TO FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE OF THOSE OPTIMAL CONDITIONS, BUT NOT HAVING INPUTS THAT ARE SO RESOURCE INTENSIVE. YOUR LAST MESSAGE FOR CONSUMERS WHEN THIS DOES FINALLY GO ON THE MARKET AND IT’S MORE WIDESPREAD, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL NEW FOOD PRODUCT. THIS IS ENTIRELY NEW TO THE MARKET. IT’S EXCITING IN MANY WAYS, BUT WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE’S ONGOING SCIENTIFIC STUDIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS THIS PRODUCT THAT’S TOUTED AS BEING VERY GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ACTUALLY IS. AND THAT’S JUST GOING TO REQUIRE FURTHER TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT AND FURTHER STUDY. EDWARD SPANG WITH UC DAVIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR STUDY WIT

Lab-grown meat could have a worse carbon footprint than animal agriculture, study says

Updated: 6:38 PM EDT Jun 6, 2023

Lab-grown meat made from animal cells is thought to be better for the environment. Now a study from the University of California, Davis, shows that lab-grown meat could potentially have a worse carbon footprint. One of the authors of the study, Edward Spang from UC Davis, said lab-grown meat isn't on the market in the United States yet, but there are things to consider before mass production.The study by UC Davis found the global warming potential to be four to 25 times greater than regular beef."We conducted a study, and it shows that there is a risk that cultured meat might be worse for the environment in some situations than animal agriculture," Sprang said. "Much of this risk is that if we are using production methods that are typical of the pharmaceutical industry, it requires really resource-intensive ingredients to grow this material than if we grow it in a food production environment." Watch the full interview in the video player above.

Lab-grown meat made from animal cells is thought to be better for the environment.

Now a study from the University of California, Davis, shows that lab-grown meat could potentially have a worse carbon footprint.

One of the authors of the study, Edward Spang from UC Davis, said lab-grown meat isn't on the market in the United States yet, but there are things to consider before mass production.

The study by UC Davis found the global warming potential to be four to 25 times greater than regular beef.

"We conducted a study, and it shows that there is a risk that cultured meat might be worse for the environment in some situations than animal agriculture," Sprang said. "Much of this risk is that if we are using production methods that are typical of the pharmaceutical industry, it requires really resource-intensive ingredients to grow this material than if we grow it in a food production environment."

Watch the full interview in the video player above.