Reality check for lab-grown meat substitutes
Analysis presented at the start of December in a peer-reviewed scientific journal has calculated that laboratory-produced, synthetic meat substitutes would cost $63 per kilo to develop, even if production can scale up in the future.
This figure is quoted in a paper in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, written by a research team at Oklahoma State University.
The research team then drew a comparison with the price of meat and said that, in 2021, average wholesale prices suggested lean pork cost less than $4 per kilo to produce and beef just over $6.
Commenting on this in the Financial Times, science writer Anjana Ahuja said of cultured meat substitutes prepared in bioreactors: “This futuristic industry may be heading for an unpalatable reality check.”
