Cultivated meat and cell-based seafood have advanced significantly in 2025-2026, with implications for billions of farmed animals - but challenges remain before the technology can scale to meaningful impact.
The welfare promise of cellular agriculture remains compelling: if scaled, it could eliminate slaughter for tens of billions of land animals annually. However, current commercial scale is negligible relative to conventional animal agriculture. The transition period presents its own welfare considerations - continued funding for R&D is essential to make the technology viable before animal agriculture further expands. The industry's welfare credentials also depend on humane cell sourcing and transparent supply chains.