Lab-Grown Chicken Is Officially Coming Soon

Lab-Grown Chicken Is Officially Coming Soon

Image: Upside Foods

The lab-grown future of food starts now as two California companies—Upside Foods and Eat Just—have received final approvals from the United States Department of Agriculture to begin hocking lab-grown chicken.

Upside Foods and Eat Just announced the news in respective press releases, following the USDA’s approval of each company’s labels earlier this month. That regulatory rubber stamp means that the two brands can begin commercial production of the synthetic chicken. Eat Just is the company behind the famous Just Egg, a realistic egg substitute that is completely vegan, and will be selling lab-grown poultry under the brand Good Meat. Good Meat also received clearance from the FDA for its manmade meat in March.

“I’m thrilled to share that cultivated meat will now be available for consumers in the U.S.,” said CEO and Founder of Upside Foods Uma Valeti in the company’s press release. “This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table. It’s a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future—one that preserves choice and life.”

The Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act place inspectors in the slaughterhouses of any company selling meat products to the masses, but according to Good Meat, these inspectors will be assigned to the facilities behind lab-grown protein for the first time ever. Both companies use a similar approach, which involves extracting cells from live chickens and growing them in a lab while feeding them sugar, amino acids, and vitamins along the way.

“This announcement that we’re now able to produce and sell cultivated meat in the United States is a major moment for our company, the industry and the food system,” said Good Meat co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick in the company’s press release. “We have been the only company selling cultivated meat anywhere in the world since we launched in Singapore in 2020, and now it’s approved to sell to consumers in the world’s largest economy.”

Upside Foods announced that the company had processed its first order for the manmade meat, which was placed by three-Michelin-starred Chef Dominique Crenn. The company also stated in its release that its chicken will be launched nationwide, but only in limited quantities and through partnered restaurants. Similarly, Good Meat is selling its first batch to Chef José Andrés—who owns 30 restaurants—with an unidentified restaurant in Washington D.C. getting the company’s first slab of protein.