Don't call it synthetic.Cultured meat is part of the solution

The Italian bill against cultured meat is an anti-scientific, ideological choice that damages the Italian economy, the environment and animals.

The bill was approved in the Senate on Wednesday 19 July presented by the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida which prohibits the production and sale of cultured meat, and this is one of the flagship measures of this Government in the field agricultural and food.

Within the proposal, in addition to the ban which - in fact - prevents the production and scientific research on meat grown in Italy, a specific article has been included which it also prohibits the use of terms such as "burger" and "cutlet" for all those completely plant-based products.A highly armored proposal that the majority included (and approved, at least for now) under pressure from the two main trade associations of breeders and meat producers, to hinder potential competitors.

What is cultured meat

But what is cultured meat that so scares associations such as Coldiretti, Confagricoltura and many others?Cultured meat it is obtained by taking cells from a live, healthy animal.This is a technique that has already been used for years in regenerative medicine, taking cells from a living muscle which are made to proliferate - that is, cultivated - in a bioreactor which reproduces the same conditions as the animal body (temperature, acidity, pH, etc.), and fed with a mixture of nutrients (glucose, vitamins, minerals).To be clear, these are the same bioreactors used for the production of yogurt, beer and wine.

For some time, those who are against (or afraid of) cultured meat have often deliberately used the term “synthetic” to define it. An erroneous and misleading term, as the cultivated meat derives from a sample taken from animals that are already alive and is to all intents and purposes real meat.

Therefore, given that there is nothing synthetic, how much truth is there in the many criticisms leveled at cultured meat on the alleged negative impacts in terms of the environment and health?

The opinions of the associations

Coldiretti, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, through its current owner Francesco Lollobrigida, has repeatedly relaunched the news of the study which would attribute to synthetic meat an ecological footprint that is four to 25 times greater than that raised with the conventional method.However, this data is based on research – Environmental impacts of cultured meat – created by five researchers from the University of California and deposited in pre-print on the BioRxiv online archive, that is, before being subjected to the peer review procedure.Therefore, we are not talking about a verified study published in a scientific journal, but for the moment only on an online portal.Furthermore, the authors themselves have specified in the text how it is very preliminary measures, calculated on small-scale plants, and with ingredients and machinery not optimized for large-scale production.For this reason the researchers themselves have suggested investing in research for improve current technologies with which cultivated meat is produced, to avoid reproducing on a large scale mechanisms with an excessive environmental impact.

The production

The production of cultured meat is, yes, still today expensive from an energy point of view, but several studies have shown how the production of meat grown in the laboratory with the use of renewable energy it would have a significantly lower carbon footprint than even traditional “sustainably raised” meat products.In any case, the energy-intensive aspect is just one of many.When it comes to environmental impact in fact there is not only the energy consumed, but also other factors, such as land consumption, the deforestation or the consumption of waterfall, all of which are strongly associated with conventional meat production and consumption.So to give a complete answer, it is not correct to take into consideration only one element of the environmental impact, but consider all factors:in this sense, it is clear that conventional livestock farming remains among the main culprits global warming and a whole series of very heavy environmental impacts on the Planet.

As regards health, in Italy we have witnessed a real manipulation of scientific data from the FAO, the United Nations organization for food and agriculture.Inside the FAO – WHO report “Food safety aspects of cell-based food” – the agency has in fact identified some health risks which are completely comparable to those of conventional red meat.In its manifesto, Coldiretti used the 53 points of the FAO to scare potential consumers by implying that these are risks exclusive to cell-based food.The report highlights how the same risks can be found in conventional meat products and in common food processes.Not only that:unlike intensive farms where the massive use of antibiotics used for preventive purposes and the onset of lethal epidemics - such as avian flu in the case of poultry farms - is common practice the cultured meat is antibiotic-free and eliminates the risk of antibiotic resistance and the onset and spread of pathologies potentially transmissible to other animals and humans.

However, there is an undisputed and fundamental benefit that cultured meat brings with it: the elimination of violence and cruelty towards animals who are still confined to farms today.

The position of Italy

Coldiretti has repeatedly tried to disavow this undisputed truth, arguing that cultivated meat is actually not very respectful of animal welfare since it requires the use of animal fetal serum.Compared to the past, however, when to actually produce this meat it was necessary to use animal fetal serum as a cell culture medium, today plant-based alternatives have been developed completely cruelty-free.A single piece of meat the size of a peppercorn would be enough to produce thousands of hamburgers, just like those made with meat from real farm animals.

As if that wasn't enough, the Government's proposal - which will soon arrive at the Chamber of Deputies for the final vote - is also strongly anti-economic:Given all these benefits for the environment, health and animals, Italy wants to prevent its own companies from investing in our country for this production, thus effectively leaving the market to foreign companies.In the event of approval at European level, it will not be possible for Italy to prohibit the marketing of cultured meat produced abroad, thus favoring foreign production.Instead of working towards Made in Italy production, therefore, this law will undermine and impoverish the economic sector of Italian food.

Meat grown abroad

And while in Italy there is a discussion about cultured meat yes or cultured meat no, many companies are already moving abroad.For some time, in different countries like United States, Israel and Singapore, it is already possible to taste the cultured meat.Furthermore, in the last few weeks important consumer ratifications and approval requests have arrived:on June 21st the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved for the first time the sale and consumption of cultured meat produced by two companies, GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods, while on July 21st the Israeli company Aleph Farms, active in cellular agriculture, has submitted a preliminary authorization dossier to the FSA, the Food Standards Agency, the government agency responsible for food safety and hygiene in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to the placing on the market of beef steaks grown in the United Kingdom.A few days later (editor's note: 26 July), the same company announced that it had submitted to the competent authorities a request for approval for the marketing of meat grown in Switzerland.

 

With all due respect to the detractors, cultured meat is making inroads and will be part of the future of food, a more respectful food than environment And animals which should also be protected and encouraged in Italy.We hope that our Deputies, when they are called to vote on this unfortunate measure, will take into account the future of our Planet, animals and our economy.