[ti:US Approves Chicken Meat Grown in a Laboratory]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]U.S. government officials have approved meat
[00:04.88]that is grown from cells in a laboratory
[00:08.72]to be sold in restaurants and food stores.
[00:14.24]Companies have been developing "lab-grown" meat for years.
[00:19.84]But the California-based companies Upside Foods and Good Meat
[00:26.60]are the first to have their products approved
[00:30.36]by the Department of Agriculture.
[00:33.96]Chicken is the only "lab-grown" meat permitted in the United States.
[00:40.28]However, lab-grown meat from cattle,
[00:44.52]pigs and sheep might be available soon.
[00:49.92]Supporters of lab-grown meat
[00:52.84]say it does not require killing or hurting animals.
[00:57.72]They also say it reduces the effects
[01:02.44]that feeding animals and animal waste have on the environment.
[01:08.56]Production of meat grown in a laboratory
[01:12.76]begins by taking cells from fertilized eggs.
[01:18.20]The cells are combined with nutrients
[01:21.48]that support their growth in steel tanks.
[01:24.84]Upside Foods's lab-grown meat is created in large sheets,
[01:31.24]which are then formed into final products.
[01:35.48]Good Meat transforms cells into several chicken products.
[01:41.48]The company's products are already available in Singapore,
[01:46.44]the first country to permit lab-grown meat.
[01:51.40]Lab-grown meat is different from plant-based meat
[01:55.92]such as Impossible Burgers.
[01:59.40]Those products are made from plant materials.
[02:04.08]Researchers consider lab-grown meat to be "real" meat.
[02:10.60]Company representatives say the lab grown chicken seems like real meat.
[02:18.28]Amy Chen is Upside Foods's chief operating officer.
[02:23.64]She told the Associated Press:
[02:27.04]"The most common response we get is,
[02:30.36]‘Oh, it tastes like chicken.'"
[02:33.08]However, lab-grown meat is very costly,
[02:38.16]so it will not be available in grocery stores any time soon.
[02:44.44]Restaurants are expected to begin serving "lab-grown" meat
[02:48.92]within two to five years.
[02:51.92]Experts say it might be available in supermarkets in seven to 10 years.
[03:00.16]Both companies have stated that lab-grown meat production
[03:05.48]will be limited in the coming years.
[03:08.88]For example, Upside Foods can produce about 22,680 kilograms
[03:17.96]of lab-grown meat a year.
[03:21.32]For comparison, the Department of Agriculture
[03:25.32]says the U.S. produced about 27 billion kilograms of chicken in 2021.
[03:34.44]Officials expect the price of lab-grown meat
[03:38.24]to be about $44 per kilogram.
[03:42.36]Critics argue that, at such a high price,
[03:46.88]only rich people will be able to purchase lab-grown meat.
[03:52.72]Ricardo San Martin is director of the Alt: Meat Lab,
[03:57.92]part of the University of California, Berkeley.
[04:02.84]Martin told the Associated Press:
[04:05.60]"If some high-end or affluent people want to eat this
[04:11.60]instead of a chicken, it's good."
[04:14.88]Then he added, "Will that mean you will feed chicken to poor people?
[04:20.28]I honestly don't see it."
[04:23.60]Martin said he is concerned
[04:26.16]that if only a small number of people eat lab-grown meat,
[04:31.72]it will have little effect on the environment.
[04:36.72]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM