Lab-grown protein could make up 35% of meat consumption by 2040 amid growing concerns about animal agriculture

grilled duck mephis meats
Grilled duck made from animal cells. Image: Memphis Meats

Memphis Meats, based in Emeryville, California, is one of a growing number of startups worldwide that are making cell-based or cultured meat. They want to offer an alternative to traditional meat production …. but they are far from becoming mainstream and face pushback from livestock producers.

The company, which also has produced cell-grown beef and duck, has attracted investments from food giants Cargill and Tyson Foods as well as billionaires Richard Branson and Bill Gates.

A report released in June by consulting firm A.T. Kearney predicts that by 2040, cultured meat will make up 35 percent of meat consumed worldwide, while plant-based alternatives will compose 25 percent.

“The large-scale livestock industry is viewed by many as an unnecessary evil,” the report says. “With the advantages of novel vegan meat replacements and cultured meat over conventionally produced meat, it is only a matter of time before meat replacements capture a substantial market share.”

Many consumers would love to eat meat that doesn’t require killing animals, said Brian Spears, who founded a San Francisco startup called New Age Meats that served its cell-based pork sausages to curious foodies at a tasting last September.

Read full, original article: Meat From a Lab? Startups Cook Up Alternative to Slaughter

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}

Related Articles

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Does glyphosate—the world's most heavily-used herbicide—pose serious harm to humans? Is it carcinogenic? Those issues are of both legal and ...

Most Popular

ChatGPT Image May 10, 2026, 08_16_59 PM 2
Overmedicalization? RFK Jr.’s antidepressant crackdown raises conflict questions over his fee stake in Wisner Baum, the tort firm built on suing drug makers
Picture1-5
Science Disinformation Gap: The transatlantic battle over social media and censorship
ChatGPT-Image-Apr-13-2026-02_20_22-PM
Viewpoint: Misinformation infodemic? Why assessing evidence is so challenging 
Picture1-14
When superbugs threaten vulnerable children: Can AI help solve antibiotic resistance?
Screenshot-2026-05-08-at-3.40.33-PM
Seeds of power: China turns to genetic engineering to become global superpower
Farmers can talk to plants
Farmers are a major source of misinformation—about farming
S
As vaccine rejectionism spreads, measles may be taking a more dangerous turn
Screenshot 2026-05-08 at 3.01
Transforming farming and nutrition with AI and robotics? Larry Ellison’s half-billion-dollar Hawaii greenhouse dream goes bust
Screenshot-2026-04-20-at-2.26.27-PM
Viewpoint — Food-fear world: The latest activist scientists campaign: Cancer-causing additives
ChatGPT-Image-May-8-2026-01_41_33-PM-3
Viewpoint: Surge of climate misinformation traced to right wing and anti-wind activists 
Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-1.29.41-PM
Viewpoint: What happens when whole grains meet modern food manufacturing? Labels don’t tell the whole story.
Screenshot-2026-04-12-135256
Bixonimania: The fake disease scam that AI swallowed whole
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.