Lab-grown meat has begun getting the green light from regulators and is making its way onto restaurant menus. Still, not everybody is ready to dig in for reasons ranging from “It tastes funny” to general uneasiness, cost, and faith-based objections.
That last concern was recently addressed (at least in part) by two groups of religious leaders who weighed in on cultivated chicken.
- Orthodox Union Kosher, the biggest of the Big Five agencies that certify foods as compliant with Jewish dietary laws, approved lab-grown chicken made by the Israeli startup SuperMeat.
- A trio of high-profile Shariah scholars from Saudi Arabia said this week that chicken produced by California-based Good Meat (one of the first cultivated meats to win FDA approval) could be made in a halal-compliant way.
Getting the nod from religious authorities could help cultivated protein become a staple in the diet of millions of believers worldwide. But the path to acceptance isn’t guaranteed since theological opinions on food vary even with dishes that aren’t on the technological bleeding edge.
And convincing observant communities that lab-grown meat is compatible with their faith is not just a matter of social progress—it’s also a business opportunity. Estimates of annual global sales of halal food range from $775 billion to $2.2 trillion, while kosher food is a $41 billion market.
