Future of cultured meat depends on world demand

by | Apr 4, 2018 | 5 Ag Stories, News

Would you eat meat grown in a laboratory? It is scientifically feasible, and beef interests are concerned about its market acceptance and the share of the meat market it could gain from high end consumers or those who are morally opposed to livestock being grown for the purpose of harvesting for meat.

It is not just beef, it could likely be chicken. There is even a fantasy of having rhinoceros meat available for sale.

That broadens the responses to the question: ?Honey, what are we having for dinner tonight?? A serious response from a pro meat group conducting research into the economics and market acceptance of cultured meat, or whatever you would like to call it.

AUDIO: Profit Matters 4-4-18

Cultured meat is years away from large-scale production, but how could the alternative meat industry affect ranchers in the future? Trevor Amen, animal protein economist with CoBank?s Knowledge Exchange Division, tells us about the company?s recent study that evaluated the effect ?meatless? meat could have on livestock demand.

?The biggest takeaway from the report is – despite expected growth in the alternative protein category over the next decade, the effect on livestock and poultry protein demand in the U.S. is not expected to be significant,? Amen said. ?The future success of these alternative proteins lies squarely in rising global protein demand rather than a battle for existing market share for traditional livestock and poultry.?

?We know, globally, meat and poultry demand is highly correlated with GDP growth,? Amen said. ?As more of the population moves into the middle class, economic activity is expected to grow by $38 trillion, generating an expected 46% increase in meat and poultry consumption around the world. These technology companies are working to supplement this growth with alternative protein products.?

Amen says alternative meat will likely stay just that, an alternative to traditional meat sources.