Update: Since we wrote this story in the summer of 2023, much has happened, particularly in Italy. In the spring, the country voted to ban the production of cultivated meat, but Italy just did a u-turn, withdrawing the ban that would fine a person €60,000 for producing lab-grown meat, a measure deemed “reckless prohibition” by those in favor of the synthetic cultivation.
Proponents of the measure used the usual fear-based tenets of creating a sustainable food source and loss of economic potential, saying Italy would be left behind by other EU countries. They cited that 54% of Italians want to try cultivated meat and are being banned by the draconian Italian government, which they described as “ideological” and “anti-scientific.” Sound familiar? It’s the same shaming playbook to get us all to go along to get along.
Sixty percent of the Italian senate voted in favor of the ban, citing preserved national heritage of Italian meats like prosciutto and busseto. They also cited human health issues. But if Italy truly wants to ban these meats, they need EU approval. Italy withdrew its EU notification of intent to ban cultivated meat, leading many to speculate that the country had suddenly grown fond of cultivated pepperoni, but not so fast. Italy likely withdrew its petition because they knew the EU would reject it and because the petition would not allow Italy to ban imports of these cultivated products from other countries (as long as the products obtain regulatory approval). In light of the fact that FDA is approving death jabs with no human clinical trials, these meats are likely to sail through EU regulatory approval “stringent requirements” if those bodies are as corrupt as the FDA. Is there any doubt that the world’s regulatory agencies would pass lab-grown meats with flyer colors, without ever knowing the adverse health effects? So far, none of the cultivated meat companies have yet filed for EU regulatory approval thus far.
This will no doubt continue to be a battle, as the New World Order folks try to force us to “eat the bugs and be happy.” They use flowery language like “complementary protein innovations” to sell us on these concepts. After all, “protein innovations” sounds far more appetizing than “petri dish pepperoni” or “beaker turkey”, right? The movement for lab-grown meat is part of the fear-based climate movement that the planet is burning and that our food system is the primary culprit. Isn’t it funny how many primary culprits there are: our food, farting cows, farm crops, gas stoves, and so much more.
It will be interesting to see where Italy – and the world – go from here. Both Singapore and the US have already approved the sale of cultivated meats, and Switzerland and the UK are looking to fast-track the process. We are told not to worry about lab-grown meats. After all, both the UN and the World Health Organization have released a joint report to put our fears to rest about tumor formation and lab-grown meant, as well as negative reports of GMOs. We should all breathe easier knowing that (sarcasm intended).
Our original article is below.
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Remember years ago when advertisers claimed pork to be the other white meat? Now, the modern era has ushered in meatless meat. First at bat was the plant-based Impossible Burger, a product released in 2016. You asked, “How can plants taste like meat? It’s impossible!” “Will this really taste like the burgers grandma used to make?”
Well, hold on to your knickers, because the Impossible Burger pales in comparison to what is happening now. The saga surrounding meatless meat has become a whole lot meatier. Indeed, this situation has gotten worse. A whole lot worse!
In late June, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave permission to not one, but two companies to begin selling cell-cultivated chicken meat to chicken-loving Americans like you and me.
The two companies are Good Meat and Upside Foods. It appears there is a fox in the henhouse, and that fox is none other than Bill Gates. He has invested for years in Upside Foods, along with pal Richard Branson. Good Meat has a parent company known as Eat Just, which as of March 2021 had raised over $400 million from multiple investors, including Bill Gates’ investment arm Gates Ventures.
So, yes, you are reading this right. Bill Gates is involved in both of the companies that just got approval from not one, but two major US regulatory agencies, the USDA and the FDA. Actually, Good Meat received approval in Singapore in December 2020 and has been selling lab chicken in that country.
Where does Gates find the time? After all, he’s so busy predicting (or creating?) the next pandemic! You know the statement that “If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely going to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war,” Gates said in a 2015 Ted Talk. He was right! It was a pandemic! Now he is clucking around with lab grown chicken. Amazing. What else is in store for us with Gates’ guru-like prophecies?
Gates views cultivated meat as the trifecta. After all, it solves global warming, inhumane treatment of animals, and the growing global hunger problem. That must be why the company names are “upside” and “eat just”. No subliminal messaging here. However, you probably feel really, really good about fake chicken right about now, but you can’t explain why.
The Regulatory Process
Both “meat” companies purportedly had a long regulatory process where they had to get both USDA and FDA approval. First, the two agencies had to work together to decide how the lab-made meat would be regulated. The agencies held a public meeting in October 2018, then created the regulatory framework in 2019 in which USDA and FDA would share responsibilities. In July 2020, the agencies held a joint public meeting to report how they would share responsibility for cultured meat regulation. In November 2022, the FDA completed its pre-market consultation for a human food made from cultured animal cells. Despite this being the first time for such science, the FDA issued a “no questions” letter to Upside Foods, and the same to Good Meat a few months later. The letter stated that FDA had no questions about safety or any other matter. A timeline from November 2022 to June 2023 for regulatory approval by the FDA is incredibly short — unheard of to most normal companies that have to go through the regulatory process.
The UPSIDE Foods team and Good Meat have now achieved all three key regulatory milestones: A “No Questions” Letter from the FDA, a USDA Label Approval, and the USDA Grant of Inspection. And in record time no less!
While it will likely be years before the two companies have the scale to sell cell-cultivated meat in grocery stores, the USDA and FDA approvals will eventually allow the sale of cell-cultivated meat across state lines after passing federal inspections.
The Climate Agenda
One of the big selling points for “alternative” meat companies is the growing environmental concerns a la the climate change agenda. They’re telling us that these operations are so much friendlier to the environment that those pesky farting, burping cows (and chickens, for that matter). But are these companies better for the environment?
It is assumed that lab-grown meat made of animal cells will use less land, less water and really less everything, right? However, University of California, Davis researchers have just shown that cultivated meat will have “orders of magnitude” higher environmental impact than regular ol’ beef (known as cows). Researchers performed what is known in the industry as a life cycle assessment to analyze the laboratory-based production methods. The energy needed, and greenhouse gases emitted, will have a gargantuan carbon footprint. For example, purification of the animal cell growth medium uses lots of resources. In terms of the global warming scale commonly used to bash us all into climate submission, these new lab methods will have a 4 to 25 times greater carbon global warming potential than average retail beef. It’s going to be way more expensive, too. It’s clear to see that the flatulent cows win this argument hands down (or udders down).
If the industry is one day able to change from pharmaceutical-grade processes to food-grade processes, the two new meat companies do become more environmentally competitive but likely still above conventional beef production. Another victory for the farting cows as the researchers conclude that cultured meat is not inherently better for the environment/
But Is It Healthy?
Just like these meats are touted as environmentally friendly, they are also touted as healthy. Let’s examine that. One of the things consumers love about the Impossible Burger is that is looks so much like red meat. It’s made of plants, though, so how is this accomplished? Heme is used. It is an iron-rich molecule mostly found in red meat. Impossible Burger uses it to mimic the bleeding juices that real burgers have. The heme is harvested from soy plant roots and inserted into genetically-engineered yeast. These yeasts can easily be engineered to spit out waste products, which the company renamed as “magical” products. So you’re eating a waste product that mimics the blood of red meat. Yum! It sounds delicious.
Cell-cultivated meats like those just FDA-approved, differ from plant-based meats. They’re actual meat but just created in a lab from animal muscle cells. To create lab chicken, a biopsy is taken from the chicken and cells are then placed in a bioreactor awash in a growing “bath” with salt, water, vitamins and other nutrients the cells need to grow. These cells grow into the muscle, fat and connective tissue found in real meat. After about two weeks, the product is removed from the tank and shaped into familiar chicken shapes like nuggets or cutlets and cooked. Yummy!
Some scientists have expressed concern about the use of immortalized cells, which have been used in medical research for seven decades. The most famous immortal cell line is a line of cervical cancer cells known as HeLa cells, derived from a woman, Henrietta Lacks. Believer Meats has acknowledged the use of immortalized cells in their development. These types of cells are precancerous and in some cases fully cancerous, and some scientists have expressed concern. Others say there is no danger because the meat cells are not human so it would be essentially impossible for people to get cancer from eating them.
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What’s Next?
Bill Gates has big visions for his two big meat companies. Gates has famously said that all rich countries should exclusively eat synthetic beef out of responsibility to the climate: “You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is these companies are going to make it taste even better over time. Tastes like chicken, huh? You first, Bill. Let me know how it is.
Gates has even more grandiose visions into the future. He is also an investor in Memphis Meats, which is making synthetic meat at a cellular level, combining animal cells with CRISPR, a technology that lets scientists easily edit DNA. This is the next generation of lab grown meat.
Some of their patents definitely raise an eyebrow. One was granted for the manufacture of skeletal muscle for dietary consumption. The company explains that the DNA editing could make their products better for both public health and the environment. Another company, New Age Meats, is also working with CRISPR to make meat tastier, healthier and more sustainable. I cringe to even think about it. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
These initial two approvals will definitely open the floodgates, or maybe Pandora’s Box. There are already 150 companies operating in the sector. Conventional meat companies and prominent investors have put in billions of dollars. Consumers will likely embrace it, because most of us love that next new thing.
All flavor. No cow. It’s very appealing. It tastes like chicken, but it’s so much more, and it’s coming to a table near you.
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Fed Up Texas Chick is a contributing writer for The Tenpenny Report. She’s a rocket scientist turned writer, having worked in the space program for many years. She is a seasoned medical writer and researcher who is fighting for medical freedom for all of us through her work.