The MIT Technology Review is a magazine and online publication that focuses on the exploration and analysis of emerging technologies and their impact on society. Each year, MIT highlights some of the worst technologies -- those that failed in epic ways -- and among that list for 2023 is cultivated chicken.
Lab-grown poultry products gained U.S. approval last year, including UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) and Eat Just. MIT takes a swing at the California-based company UPSIDE Foods, saying that the company was "a bird in borrowed feathers."
The company's product is quite a bit shy of hitting the mark. Instead of producing whole, textured chicken fillets, UPSIDE has been growing skin cells in flasks and then forming them into chicken pieces.
"In other words, Upside was using lots of labor, plastic, and energy to make hardly any meat," the article said.
MIT has a point. While chicken sells for $4.99 per pound in stores, cultivated chicken can only be bought from UPSIDE at the Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco for $45.
UPSIDE was a little less than flattered by their listing. CEO Uma Valeti responded to the MIT article saying, "We are disappointed that this article fails to provide an accurate picture of the progress of cultivated meat and does not provide the right context for UPSIDE's first product. UPSIDE has successfully and repeatedly demonstrated that we can scale our suspension technology to make delicious ground-textured and blended products. This platform is the basis for the commercial plant we are currently building and will enable large-scale production pending regulatory approval."
Cultivated meat has a way to go before it will be considered a success. And UPSIDE admitted that in a 2023 statement following their approval by both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Attempting to replace poultry, beef or pork with lab grown “meat” has not been met with overwhelming success. It seems as though some might prefer the lab product, but survey after survey continues to demonstrate America’s overwhelming preference and support for products grown and raised on farms/ranches. So much so that demand for the naturally grown product often outpaces supply. Our nation’s farmers/ranchers go out of their way to provide food that is clean, safe, nutritious and reasonably priced. We hope you would agree – they do an excellent job! That is why we believe they will be around long after the lab grown craze has faded into history and precisely why we provide tools like AgPack® and AgTruckTrader® to help you conquest more deals with the farmers/ranchers in your area.
