Britain becomes first country in Europe to approve lab-grown meat

24 comments

1. ***The Telegraph reports:***

   Britain has become the first country in Europe to approve lab-grown meat, paving the way for cultivated chicken to be sold in pet stores as early as this year. 

   UK start-up Meatly has received the green light from UK regulators for its lab-grown meat to be used in pet food, with plans to [initially focus on dogs](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/british-dogs-to-be-fed-100pc-lab-grown-meat-meatly/). 

   The first batches of pet food which include its cultivated chicken are expected to appear on sale towards the end of the year after taste trials have been conducted among dogs. 

   It means the UK will be the first European country where lab-grown pet food is available for people to buy. 

   Owen Ensor, Meatly’s chief executive and co-founder, said this followed a push from regulators and government to champion food innovation and speed up approval processes after Brexit, with the UK seizing on its “huge advantage”.

   He said: “The European Union has traditionally been a more conservative regulator and the US is getting embroiled in food politics – unnecessarily, in my opinion. So the UK can really step up here.

   “There has been an opportunity with Brexit, both legally with the disengaging from the EU process, but also from a government perspective. There’s been a lot of enthusiasm for innovative solutions and I think that we’ll see that continue with the current Government.”

   Meatly, which was founded in 2022, is the first company in the world to get authorisation for cultivated pet food, which uses meat grown from animal cells.

   **Read more:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/07/17/britain-first-country-in-europe-approve-lab-grown-meat/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/07/17/britain-first-country-in-europe-approve-lab-grown-meat/)

2. No thank you.

3. I hecking love corporate slop!!!!! (Sponsored comment)

4. Smart

5. How does it taste?

6. [deleted]

7. UK actually doing something smart for once, keep it up lads!

8. Bone apple teeth, my anglo-saxon friends! Sounds delicious!

9. Interesting, does their lab-grown meat contain less cholesterol, if any?

10. Nobody here is reading the article. It’s in dog food.

11. Wow, for animal consumption? I imagined it would cost a fortune to produce so wouldn’t be suitable for that. That’s a good sign I hope. I know they sell for a fortune in Singapore but for human consumption.

12. No one ever: “I can’t wait to base my diet on lab grown meat.”

13. Interesting to hear if any vegetarians o
    or vegans would go for lab grown meat. I’ve heard there’s veggie dog food, but would lab meat would be the better choice?

14. Britain desperately trying to improve national cuisine.

15. Rare britain W

16. So will this be available in Northern Ireland?

17. This is a odd product. Lab grown meat has the problem of cost so why use it as dog food instead for human consumption? people would rather over pay for their own food rather than for their dogs

18. What a fantastic development that wont have any horrible knock on effects for animals at all.

19. Nice, we get to see the long term effects of eating lab grown meat on pets first lol

20. I’d eat lab grown meat….today if it was available for humans.

21. I spare you reading this article:

    Britain has become the first country in Europe to approve lab-grown meat, paving the way for cultivated chicken to be sold in pet stores as early as this year.

22. I am so offended. The dog food I eat needs to be real! I won’t accept your fancy smancy sciency nerd meat. I want real meat dog food on my plate! Nothing else.

    /s …. of course.

23. easier than importing from EU I guess.

24. I don’t really care where they grow them meat anyway, so even if it’s for human consumption I would buy them – providing they are good value of money which I doubt they will be in short term