Russell Ross announced he had succeeded in growing muscle fibers in vitro. The idea is not new, as Winston Churchill had already predicted in 1931 that we would eventually have cultured meat: “We shall avoid the absurdity of growing a whole chicken and eating only the breast or wing by cultivating these parts separately in a suitable medium. Synthetic food will certainly be used in the future, without banning the pleasures of the table” (Sir Winston Churchill, 1931, Fifty Years Hence, The Strand Magazine). Then, in January 2000, Harvard grew coin-sized sheep meat, but it was called a “semi-living” steak. Two years later, NASA produced edible muscle cells (Edible Muscle Protein Production System – MPPS). In 2005, the first article on in vitro meat was published. In 2013, the first cultured meat burger was tasted in London. The pace picks up: in 2015, production costs are reduced 10,000-fold thanks to the work of the Mark Post lab. Finally, in 2019, it begins to be marketed in some countries around the world. It was first marketed in Singapore (2020), then in the USA (2021), and finally in Israel (2024). On December 2, 2020, Singapore’s food agency approved the commercial sale of chicken bites produced by Eat Just Inc. This is the first time that a cultured meat product has passed the quality and safety inspections (which usually take at least two years) of a government agency that deals with food regulation. In 2021, Aleph Farms then started a collaboration with Mitsubishi Corp. Food Industry Group to bring cultured beef to the Japanese market.
