KazPost

Kazakhstan News
Sunday, Dec 22, 2024

Italy's waging a crusade against lab-grown meat. Does it have a point?

Italy's waging a crusade against lab-grown meat. Does it have a point?

Italy is moving to become the first country in the world to ban its companies from producing lab-cultivated meat, threatening fines of up to €60,000.

Upon introducing the bill to the Senate, the country's Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, said:

"It damages small food producers.
It damages the environment.
It standardises food habits.
Studies do not guarantee it's safe."


Does he have a point on health risks?

He may. Most studies haven't progressed far enough to say whether lab-made meat is 100% safe. The answer also changes depending on what part of the world we look at, but the response is largely favourable to the idea.

Singapore became the first country to give the green light to human consumption of cultivated meat in 2020. The US Food and Drug administration followed in November 2022.

And in the EU? Cell-based agriculture is still being researched, but the bloc's Food and Safety Authority says it's a "promising solution" towards achieving its ambitious environmental goals.

Furthermore, the EU already granted companies like BioTech Foods, Nutreco and Mosa Meat millions of euros in research funds. In short, a half "yes", despite the scepticism of many Italian MEPs.


 
Will local farmers in Italy suffer?

Lab-grown meat isn't on supermarket shelves or restaurant menus yet, so we don't know how it will go down among consumers. And, anyway, Italians don't seem very keen on giving it a go.

Despite the country's love for meat, a recent poll found 84% of respondents said they would never try laboratory-made steaks.

It appears to be enough to rule out risks to local farmers. However, they're still not convinced. So much so that they teamed up with the World Farmers' Organisation to start a global petition against cultivated meat, or, as they call it, "Frankenstein food".

It reportedly has more than half a million signatures already and it's supported by many local authorities, particularly in the meat-producing regions. It also got the support of clerics, over concerns about "the health of the faithful".

Italian farmers' campaign against cultured food


And yet, all these efforts may just be in vain.

If the EU approves cultivated food, the proposed bill won't be enough to keep it away "from the tables of the Italians", as promised by Italy’s Agriculture Minister.

Yes, it does ban Italian companies from producing it, but doesn't prevent foreign businesses from exporting it to Italy.

The opposition argued that this would only create a competitive disadvantage for Italian businesses, instead of protecting them.

Does it damage the environment?

Cultivated meat works with bioreactors - or fermenters - which are vessels built to "provide an effective environment for enzymes or whole cells to transform biochemicals into products".

And yes, they need "a lot of energy", says Bruno Cell, an Italian start-up researching cultured meat.

"If that energy doesn't come from renewable sources, the environmental impact can be more or less significant", they told Euronews.

On the other hand, lab-grown food needs far less water and soil than traditional meat, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing deforestation. And it eliminates the need to slaughter animals or breed them in intensive farming conditions.

Italy PM Giorgia Meloni tastes a piece of mozzarella at a Coldiretti event in Milan. Oct. 1, 2022


Ultimately, how closely does cultivated meat resemble traditional meat?

"Cultivated meat is made of the same cells as animals", says Bruno Cell.

"The base-product is 100% an animal cell. The tissues are the same, they have the same organoleptic features and when they are cultivated, they receive theoretically the same nourishment that the animals get".

"Hence, so-called 'artificial meat' is not so artificial. [...] This bill basically says that anything that doesn't come directly from the land is dangerous."

"It's just going to delay Italy's research progress in this field."

Newsletter

Related Articles

KazPost
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
Corruption in the European Parliament - Business as usual
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
Paris Suburb Grapples with Violence as Curfew Imposed: Saint-Denis Residents Express Dismay and Anger
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
×