The average American eats about 44 kilograms (98 pounds) of chicken each year. Soon, some of that meat might come from a lab instead of a farm! For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided that a lab-grown meat product is safe to eat. This past November, the FDA gave the green light to lab-grown chicken made by the California-based company Upside Foods.
Lab-grown meat is created using stem cells, which can turn into different types of tissue, like muscle. These cells are collected from live chickens. They’re then grown inside a container of nutrients. Cultivating meat this way harms fewer animals. It also produces fewer heat-trapping greenhouse gases compared with raising livestock on farms.
This clearance from the FDA is encouraging for companies working on similar products, including lab-grown beef, pork, and fish. Upside Foods still needs approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture before its lab-grown chicken can make it to your plate.