Lab-Grown Meat Isn’t for Everyone

Would you eat laboratory-grown meat? This question, posed recently to respondents of Statista's Consumer Insights survey, seems to divide opinions. Laboratory-grown meat, also known as cultivated or cultured meat, is produced from animal cells, often taken by biopsy. These are then placed in a “nutrient bath” in order to develop meat outside the animal. In theory, cultured meat could offer an option to those concerned about animal welfare, or the meat industry's impact on our planet, as its production requires neither the breeding nor the slaughter of living animals.

However, as this infographic shows, the idea of eating laboratory-grown meat is still not that convincing to a majority of people. While one in five people surveyed in India said they would be willing to try this new type of food, only 9 percent of respondents in France said the same. In the United States, which is one of only two countries where this meat is currently marketed (alongside Singapore), 16 percent of respondents said they were open to the idea of eating it. It is unlikely though that cellular meat will soon find its way onto European plates, as no authorization application has yet been filed for the bloc’s market.