‘Clean’ Meat Company Teamed Up With U.S. Meat Lobby in a Letter to Trump Making the Case for Slaughter-Free Meat

As the world’s population is set to explode to 10 billion by 2050, innovative thinkers have turned to alternatives to feed the world. As it stands, our current broken food system, run by industrialized animal agriculture, is highly unsustainable, being the cause of mass deforestation, ocean dead zones, human-wildlife conflict, species extinction, and extremely dangerous rates of air and water pollution. Factory farming is also a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions which fuel Climate change. What is a viable solution to feed our growing population? Many believe it is lab-cultured, or “clean meat,” meat developed in a laboratory that does not involve the slaughter of animals and has far less of an environmental impact than traditional meat production.

Enter Dr. Uma Valeti, cardiologist and founder and CEO of Memphis Meats, America’s first lab-grown meat company based out of San Leandro, California. The company has drawn in the interest of Richard Branson and Bill Gates, as well as meat production giants Tyson and Cargill, all of whom have invested in Memphis Meats, seeing it as the (profitable) future of food.

As a new field, lab-grown meat has yet to hit the retail market, but that could change very soon, and Dr. Valeti joined up with Barry Carpenter of The North American Meat Institute (the largest meat trade association in the U.S. representing both large and small meat and poultry companies) to pen a letter to Donald Trump requesting that regulations are set for the burgeoning clean meat industry.

In the letter, they write: “Existing law and practice, as well as longstanding precedent, demonstrate that both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have roles to play in regulating cell-based meat and poultry products. To ensure the regulatory system protects consumers while fostering innovation, it is imperative that the agencies coordinate and collaborate in their efforts, consistent with established policy.“

They continue: “As an industry, we are uncompromising on product safety and we recognize the importance of consumer transparency. We Support a fair and competitive marketplace that lets consumers decide what food products make sense for them and their families, and the existing regulatory framework can achieve these goals.“

With an appeal to patriotism and the President’s stance to “Make America Great Again,” the letter concludes: “The United States is currently the world leader in protein production, including cell-based meats. But we will not maintain that position without regulatory clarity. As a next step, we respectfully request a combined meeting between the White House, USDA, FDA, and both conventional and cell-based meat and poultry industry stakeholders, including the undersigned.”

We hope Valeti and Carpenter’s letter is met with open minds and that the clean meat industry is able to take the next big step and advance toward the retail market, something that would certainly be beneficial for the environment and animal welfare, but also for the American economy as well, since studies have shown around HALF of Americans would like to see a ban on slaughterhouses and prefer slaughter-free meat.

To learn more about Memphis Meats, visit their website here.

And to learn more about how our food choices have a direct impact on the rest of the world, be sure to get your hands on a copy of the Eat for the Planet book!

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