Meat is at the heart of the unprecedented growth in supermarket food sales these days. It’s one of the core foods we are turning to as we shelter in place. It’s at the center of the plate, and will likely be there for generations to come. 

The rising challenge to this attachment to meat, according to many experts, is that we will not be able to sustainably produce enough meat to meet the demands of a fast-growing population around the world. 

Plant-based meat alternatives have been available for decades but the urgency of the challenge has brought them to the fore, and spurred the exploration of cultivated meat as well.

This podcast episode introduces you to the idea of meat grown from cells taken from live, healthy animals. I talk a bit about the 20-year history of cultivated, or cell-based meat. Keri Szejda, Founder and Principal Research Scientist at North Mountain Consulting Group helps me understand consumers’ reaction to cultivated meat. I talk with Zak Weston from the Good Food Institute about future prospects for this ”meat” meat alternative that promises an environmentally sustainable approach, the well-being of animals, and human health benefits over the current industrial animal agriculture model of growing meat.