The Food Programme

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The Food Programme: Lab-grown meat: How long before it's on a menu near you?

Lab-grown meat: How long before it's on a menu near you?

BBC Radio 4 - The Food Programme, Lab-grown meat: How long before it's on a menu near you?

Sheila Dillon looks at what the future holds for lab-grown or cultivated meat.

It's had lots of names already, lab-grown, cellular, even slaughter-free. But how soon will it be on British menus, and will it help satisfy the world's growing demand for meat?

The first lab-grown beef burger was cooked and eaten in London in 2013. Since then more than 15 types of meat have been re-created by food scientists - including lamb, duck, lobster and even kangaroo.  Last year, Singapore became the first country in the world to approve the sale of a cultured chicken nugget - so how far away are we in the UK from seeing cultured meat on the menu?  

The companies producing lab-grown meat say it is the answer to many of the world's problems; deforestation, factory farming, antibiotic resistance and carbon emissions. Sceptics say it is too expensive, highly-processed and any 'green' credentials have yet to be proven. 

In this programme, Sheila Dillon speaks to some of those at the forefront of developments, and asks if lab-grown meat is the fix the meat eating world has been asking for? 

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

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