High Steaks Hearing on Clean Meat
It was a historic week for clean meat, with the first-ever federal hearing on the topic. While much of the discussion involved what to call real meat grown from animal cells, part of the debate was over which agency should regulate it.
Think the meat industry gets treated differently than the rest of us? Events this week just might affirm your hunch, as two cattle ranchers convicted of arson on public land (to conceal evidence of wildlife poaching) received presidential pardons.
Time will tell just how much federal aid the industry gets though, as the farm bill moves forward. The LA Times this week editorialized against a dangerous provision, the King Amendment, that would wipe out critical farm animal welfare protections, especially for chickens.
15 years ago few people thought the food industry would care about the treatment of chickens, let alone would it be a matter of congressional debate. Nearly no one still believes that today. Is the same thing about to happen with fish? One food service exec thinks so, as she writes in Forbes this week.
And finally, if you need any clearer sign of changing times, I don’t know what could be clearer than this: Costco removed its Polish sausage offering from its food court and added plant-based protein options instead…
Have a nice weekend,
Paul
P.S. Video of the week: One water-averse dog’s hack to retrieve pool-bound tennis ball.
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Paul Shapiro
Author of the Washington Post bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World
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