Cultivated meat — grown from animal cells without slaughter — could be one of the most transformative welfare technologies in history. Where does it stand in 2025, and what are the remaining welfare considerations?
Cultivated meat (also called cell-cultured meat, lab-grown meat, or clean meat) is produced by taking a small biopsy of cells from a living animal, growing them in a bioreactor, and producing meat without requiring animal slaughter or intensive farming. If developed at commercial scale, cultivated meat could dramatically reduce — and potentially eliminate — the welfare harms of conventional animal agriculture for billions of animals. The welfare stakes are enormous.
The primary welfare benefit of cultivated meat is structural: it can produce animal protein without factory farming, live transport, or slaughter. If fully successful at scale, cultivated meat could:
Current cultivated meat production is not fully animal-free. Key animal welfare considerations include:
Cell lines must be initially established from animal biopsies. These procedures involve some discomfort and stress, but are minimally invasive when performed well. A single biopsy can theoretically provide cells for billions of servings of cultivated meat — making the per-meal animal welfare cost negligible.
Early cultivated meat relied on fetal bovine serum (FBS) — obtained from fetal calves — as a growth medium. This is a significant welfare concern and industry commitment: virtually all cultivated meat companies have committed to transitioning to FBS-free growth media. Progress has been made, with multiple companies demonstrating FBS-free production; cost remains a challenge for full transition.
Long-term cell line maintenance may require periodic refreshing from donor animals. The welfare standards for these donor animals should be equivalent to high-welfare research animal care standards.
Cultivated meat has received regulatory approval in the USA (USDA/FDA joint framework) and Singapore. European regulation is proceeding through the Novel Foods framework, with first approvals expected 2025-2026. Israel, Japan, South Korea, and Australia/New Zealand are developing regulatory frameworks. China's regulatory approach is still developing but has signaled support for cellular agriculture research.
The path from current pilot-scale production to mass market requires: dramatic cost reduction (current prices $10-20+/kg for some products; conventional chicken at $2-3/kg); scale-up of bioreactor technology; development of scaffolding for structured products (whole cuts); and consumer acceptance. The Good Food Institute estimates that cost parity with conventional chicken could be achieved by 2030-2035 with adequate investment.
Even a successful cultivated meat transition would not instantly improve welfare for currently farmed animals. Conventional animal agriculture would decline gradually as market displacement occurs. Welfare advocates argue for simultaneous conventional welfare reforms rather than treating cultivated meat development as a reason to deprioritize near-term welfare improvements.
Cultivated meat represents one of the most significant potential welfare technologies in history. Supporting its development — through investment, regulatory approval, consumer openness, and research funding — is a genuine animal welfare priority. The FBS transition is the most important near-term welfare issue within the industry; full animal-free production should be the technical and commercial goal.