Tastes like chicken! Is lab-grown meat an answer to climate change?

<p>For the first time, the USDA has approved lab-grown chicken meat. This could make a significant impact if it leads to shifts in the American diet, as the average consumer is expected to eat <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonemelvin/2023/06/29/americans-eat-twice-as-much-chicken-as-beef-or-pork-heres-why-it-will-take-a-while-for-lab-grown-meat-to-catch-up/?sh=4eef3bcbe127" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">100 pounds</a> of chicken in 2023, about twice the expected amount of beef and pork.<br> <br> Dr. Gaurab Basu, director at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told <em>Under the Radar</em> that lab-cultivated meat's big promise is that it's better for the environment. He said reigning in agricultural emissions, which currently make up 24% of all global emissions, is key to fighting climate change.<br> <br> "Whether it's this one with chicken or, the Impossible beef-based [burger] ... we are going to need to just fundamentally transform the way we eat, not only for our personal health, but also because we are changing the Earth's composition by the way we're using the land," he said.<br> <br> As a former vegetarian, Sam Payne, a communications specialist for Better Future Project, is excited about the prospect of lab-grown meat.<br> <br> "We need to get meat eaters to switch over to cultured meat. Vegetarians are already having a significantly lower carbon footprint," Payne said. "So, I think if they can replicate the way that a steak breaks apart in your mouth, I think that this is a multibillion dollar idea, and I'm excited to see where it goes."<br> <br> But Payne said we're a long way off from lab-grown meat overtaking sales of real meat. Two companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, are the first to get the go-ahead from the federal government. Still, it may not be available in grocery stores for some time. Upside has reported it be able to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/06/21/1183484892/no-kill-meat-grown-from-animal-cells-is-now-approved-for-sale-in-the-u-