Lab-grown meat is approved for sale in the U.S. Following a greenlight from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA), several high-end restaurants in D.C. and San Francisco are serving up the product to customers. If it gains transaction, the trend could spell bad news for family farmers while enriching Silicon Valley billionaires eyeing a hostile takeover of the global protein sector.

But a doomsday scenario is not inevitable. Lab-grown meat has two barriers to wider distribution: Price and consumer sentiment.

Cost is a major barrier standing between lab-grown meat and broad consumer acceptance. Creating the product is an extremely expensive undertaking. In fact, the first “cultivated” burger cost a staggering $325,000. Although the cost is now considerably cheaper, the tasting menu price at one D.C. restaurant for lab-grown meat is still $70.

A detailed analysis published in 2021 by an engineer examined two big issues related to the high cost of lab-grown meat when compared to natural farm-raised protein.

First, the factory “vats” in which meat cells are grown are expensive to keep sterile. The sterilization is required because even the slightest adulteration of a batch of meat cells with bacteria will ruin the whole cluster. The cost of keeping the vats sterile is high, which is a considerable problem when trying to scale up production.

Second, the “growth medium”—or the liquid nutrient solution—the cells are bathed in is pricey. The substance must be manufactured to pharmaceutical-grade quality to ensure there’s no contamination.

Whether or not the manufacturing cost can be cut to compete with farm raised meat is up in the air.

It’s easy to write lab grown meat off, but I wouldn’t. The world’s leading scientists with backgrounds in biology, chemistry, and pharmaceuticals are backed by billions of dollars to make it happen. And governments across the world are being lobbied to invest public funds in the research on environmental grounds.

They envision a Manhattan Project. But in this case, the goal is to nuke livestock farming in the name of “climate change.” Whether they can build a cost-effective bomb is not in anyone’s control but their own.

However, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. The same is true for people and lab-grown meat. Consumer acceptance, or lack thereof, is a second hurdle that will ultimately determine whether lab-grown meat is a dud.

Natural skepticism is abundant about lab-grown meat, especially among older consumers who adhere to the mantra of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Instead, lab-grown meat proponents need to capture the attention and acceptance of young Americans. Gen Z is more open to trying new things and if they get on board, companies will win customers for life.

People are curious. Many meat-eaters tried plant-based imitations when they became widely available in 2019. The media hyped these products and baptized them with the cool factor. The same curiosity will buzz around lab-grown meat if (when) it becomes more available.

Plant-based imitations have hit a wall. Recent reporting has looked at why. Ultimately, consumers learned that synthetic, plant-based imitations weren’t actually healthier, as they had been told. In fact, fake meat ended up being ultra-processed and loaded with ingredients that sure didn’t sound like vegetables.

Lab-grown meat doesn’t have the same weird ingredients like methylcellulose or titanium dioxide but does have an even more challenging public relations problems.

First, companies are utilizing “immortalized” cell lines that replicate in perpetuity, mimicking the behavior of a cancer or tumor. The “Yuck!” factor is going to kick in when consumers learn the truth behind this technology. Second, health and nutritional concerns about the long-term impacts of this product and technology are ripe for metastasizing throughout the internet.

Why?

Because natural, farm-raised meat has a safety record spanning millennia. Not so for lab-grown meat. As one scientist remarked on the best way to determine the safety of lab grown meat is to, “give it to people and then ask them 20 years later or 30 years later, ‘Have any of you gotten cancer at a higher-than-normal rate?’ But that’s not a practical experiment.”

If educated about the technology behind lab grown meat, Americans, especially parents, will reject it. No one wants to be a guinea pig in a research experiment designed to solve a non-existent problem. Farmers are here to stay if they are willing to educate the public.

Lab-grown meat's Achilles heel

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