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The Climate Question: Is lab-grown meat better for the planet?

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21/05/2023 GMT

Is lab-grown meat better for the planet?

BBC World Service - The Climate Question, Is lab-grown meat better for the planet?

Eating meat is bad for the planet, but is growing it in a lab any better?

Eating meat is bad for the planet, but do the climate-friendly claims of growing it in a lab make it any better?

Billions of dollars have been pumped into the promise of a climate-friendly way of producing meat, but is growing a steak in a lab any better for the planet than rearing a cow on a farm?
Supporters of the idea say it will dramatically reduce the impact of livestock, which is responsible for about 15% of the world’s planet-warming gases, as well as returning huge amounts of land to nature. But studies suggest cultivating meat in a lab might actually be worse for the planet, at least in the long-run – we put both claims to the test.
Plus, ten years on from the unveiling of the world’s first lab-grown meat, we ask why it’s still only available to buy at one restaurant in Singapore, and only on Thursdays.

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by:
Tasneem Karodia, co-founder of Mzansi Meat, in South Africa;
John Lynch, postdoctoral research associate at the University of Oxford, in the UK;  
Nick Marsh, the BBC’s Asia business correspondent, in Singapore

Producer: Simon Tulett
Researcher: Matt Toulson
Series Producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: China Collins
Sound engineer: Tom Brignell
Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

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Is lab-grown meat better for the planet?

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