The Chicken, the Egg, the Petri Dish

ISABELLA LIMBERT SciTech Reporter

According to the USDA, poultry — specifically chicken — is the second most consumed meat in the world. But with all of this chicken consumption, what are the potential setbacks and how can we improve for the future?

This is where lab-grown meat comes into the mix. Realistically speaking, many of the foods we consume are either grown on a farm or have been subjected to some form of scientific intervention, such as GMOs. In this case, lab-grown chicken would be supplementing the farm-raised product with a meat not only better for the animals, but for us too!

It sounds promising, but how exactly does it work? It all starts with stem cells. In the question of what came first: the chicken or the egg, the petri dish wins.

This idea first came about when Jason Matheny, scientist and founder of New Harvest, questioned whether regenerative medicine techniques could be used toward the food industry. New Harvest is a non-profit organization that aims to support invitro meat research, specifically that of cultured meat products.

Lab-cultured meat isn’t a new idea; this was first popularized in the early 2000s when Matheny coauthored a paper talking about potential benefits. Even the most innovative of ideas can take a while to come around to, as denoted by the fact that this is still in the early stages of implementation. Introduction into normal society may take a long time, as FDA approval was first introduced in 2022.