Welfare of Animals in Emerging Protein Systems

Emerging protein systems — including cultivated meat, precision fermentation, and mycoprotein — promise to dramatically reduce farm animal suffering if they scale successfully.

Key Facts

Cultivated meat requires a small biopsy from a live donor animal then grows cells in bioreactors
Precision fermentation produces animal proteins without any animal involvement beyond initial gene insertion
Mycoprotein (Quorn) requires no animal involvement and has been commercially available since 1985
UPSIDE Foods received FDA clearance for cultivated chicken in 2023
Cost reduction in cultivated meat from 300,000 per kilogram in 2013 to under 100 in 2025 has been rapid

Welfare Considerations

Cultivated meat and precision fermentation represent potentially transformative welfare technologies. If they achieve price parity and consumer acceptance, they could displace factory farming at scale — preventing the suffering of tens of billions of animals annually. The welfare implications of transitional donor animal programs are manageable and temporary. The technology risk is market adoption, not welfare compromise. Supporting development and infrastructure for these technologies is a potentially very high-leverage welfare intervention.

What You Can Do

Try cultivated meat and precision fermentation products when they become available in your market
Support policy frameworks enabling cultivated meat regulatory approval in your country
Donate to Good Food Institute research accelerating cost reduction in alternative proteins
Advocate for public investment in food technology that reduces animal suffering at scale