Is lab-grown meat ready to replace conventional meat?

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1. 1

   Alternative Protein Systems: A Bibliometric and Comparative Review of Sustainability, Functionality, and Future Food Systems.

   Foods (Basel, Switzerland) (Nifatova et al.)Published Sep 14, 2026Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “The bibliometric results show a shift from technology-specific studies toward sustainability, circular bioeconomy, life-cycle assessment, consumer acceptance, and protein-transition research. No platform consistently outperforms the others across all dimensions. Plant-based proteins are currently the most technologically mature and economically competitive; microbial proteins offer high resource efficiency and circularity; cultivated meat most closely reproduces conventional meat but remains constrained by cost and energy demand; and insect proteins support nutrient recycling but face persistent acceptance and regulatory barriers. The evidence indicates that future sustainable protein systems will depend on complementary rather than competing production platforms. Integrating these technologies according to their distinct functional and sustainability advantages provides a promising pathway toward resilient and resource-efficient food systems and offers a basis for research priorities, technology development, investment, and policy strategies supporting the global protein transition.”

2. 2

   The Dual Future of Sustainable Meat: Challenges and Opportunities in Conventional Animal Production and Cultivated Meat.

   Journal of agricultural and food chemistry (Wu et al.)Published May 27, 2026Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “As the global population grows, the meat industry must increase production sustainably. This review summarizes challenges and opportunities in both animal-based and cultivated meat production. For animal-based systems, strategies include genetic breeding for desirable traits, improved feed efficiency via additives and management, and innovative farming to mitigate carbon emissions. Cultivated meat, though still emerging, requires expanding stem cell sources and bioreactor capacity, supported by 3D scaffolds and advanced culture technologies. High costs of serum-free media remain a barrier but may be overcome by reducing fetal bovine serum or using cost-effective growth factors. Harnessing sustainable energy and AI to optimize bioprocesses and resource allocation can make cultivated meat a viable, scalable alternative to conventional production. Overall, by integrating advances in traditional animal farming with bioprocess optimization and AI to overcome scalability and economic hurdles, this dual strategy positions sustainable meat production as a key solution to meet rising global demand.”

3. 3

   Consumer Acceptability of Animal-Source Food Alternatives: A Literature Review to Support the Transition to Sustainable, Healthy Diets.

   Current developments in nutrition (Nordhagen et al.)Published Aug 11, 2026Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “A total of 5998 records were identified, and 61 were included in the full-text synthesis, covering 29 countries. The results show that acceptability varies significantly by Alt-ASF type. Key barriers across all categories include poor sensory qualities (e.g., taste, texture), limited access, high prices, unfamiliarity, and perceived inconvenience. Facilitating factors include perceived health and environmental benefits, though these alone rarely overcome the aforementioned barriers. Plant-based alternatives have the highest acceptance, whereas cell-based and insect-based alternatives have the lowest acceptance, although this varies across cultures and evidence is limited for some contexts. Although plant-based alternatives are often largely seen as merely less desirable due to sensory and convenience factors, cell- and insect-based alternatives may not even be seen as food by many consumers, who may express fear or disgust at eating them. Although food acceptability evolves over time through cultural, commercial, and policy influences, scaling Alt-ASF consumption will require both product improvements and consumer outreach.”

4. 4

   Establishing food-safe cell lines and banks for cultivated meat: current status and future directions.

   Poultry science (Mia et al.)Published Jun 10, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Drawing on publicly available regulatory dossiers from GOOD Meat, UPSIDE Foods, and Vow Group, it systematically compares approaches to donor animal qualification, cell sourcing, adventitious agent testing, genomic stability assessment, tumorigenicity evaluation, and cell bank monitoring. The analysis reveals substantial variability in testing strategies, documentation practices, and safety assessment criteria, highlighting the absence of internationally harmonized food-grade standards for cell line qualification and banking. By integrating evidence from regulatory dossiers, scientific literature, and established biopharmaceutical guidance frameworks, this review identifies microbial contamination, adventitious agents, genomic instability, and tumorigenicity as priority hazards requiring systematic control. To address these challenges, a risk-based Food-Safe Cell Line and Banking Framework (FSCLBF) is proposed to support future standardization efforts. The development of transparent, affordable, and robust approaches for cell line qualification and banking will be essential for strengthening regulatory confidence, enhancing consumer trust, and supporting commercialization.”

5. 5

   Challenges and prospects for consumer acceptance of cultured meat

   Journal of Integrative Agriculture (Verbeke et al.)Published Feb 1, 2015Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “After receiving basic information about what cultured meat is, participants expressed favorable expectations about the concept. Only 9% rejected the idea of trying cultured meat, while two thirds hesitated and about quarter indicated to be willing to try it. The provision of additional information about the environmental benefits of cultured meat compared to traditional meat resulted in 43% of the participants indicating to be willing to try this novel food, while another 51% indicated to be ‘maybe’ willing to do so. Price and sensory expectations emerged as major obstacles. Consumers eating mostly vegetarian meals were less convinced that cultured meat might be healthy, suggesting that vegetarians may not be the ideal primary target group for this novel meat substitute. Although exploratory rather than conclusive, the findings generally underscore doubts among consumers about trying this product when it would become available, and therefore also the challenge for cultured meat to mimic traditional meat in terms of sensory quality at an affordable price in order to become acceptable for future consumers.”

6. 6

   Technological landscapes and sustainable transitions: reconfiguring the meat industry in Asia.

   Food science of animal resources (Bassey et al.)Published Aug 6, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Based on a systematic review of the literature, this article identifies a distinctive "Asian Hybrid Transition Model" that characterizes the region's response. Rather than displacing conventional production systems through technological substitution, this model integrates novel technologies, such as digital tools, biotechnology, and circular economy principles, with existing industrial frameworks through three mutually reinforcing forces: corporate-led investment, state-backed orchestration, and digitally enabled intermediation. While emerging technologies, including precision livestock farming, circular economy systems, plant-based alternatives, and cultivated meat, demonstrate considerable promise, they also face persistent scientific, economic, and consumer acceptance challenges. The model also generates critical tensions between corporate consolidation and equitable access, technological efficiency and smallholder livelihoods, and environmental metrics and cultural legitimacy. Navigating these contradictions is paramount to shaping a sustainable and resilient trajectory for Asia's meat industry.”

7. 7

   Critical review of cultivated meat from a Nordic perspective

   Trends in Food Science & Technology (Rasmussen et al.)Published Jan 8, 2024Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “Development of cultivated meat is considered a socio-technological challenge including a variety of technical, sustainability, ethical, and consumer acceptance issues. As the Nordic countries share common history and roots of food culture, cultivated meat will be introduced into a socio-cultural context with established food traditions. This review summarizes the current knowledge and activities on the development of cultivated meat in the Nordic countries and considers this novel food product in a specific socio-cultural context. The production of cultivated meat in the Nordic countries, must encompass solutions that are accepted by the typical Nordic consumer. In general, this favors solutions for cell culturing based on non-GMO cells and locally accessible raw material for cell medias and scaffolding. From the perspective of the Nordic countries, this will improve the environmental, societal, and ethical context of cultivated meat.”

8. 8

   Sustainable proteins for future food systems: nutritional quality, environmental trade-offs, and consumer acceptance.

   Frontiers in nutrition (Ali et al.)Published Aug 10, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “This multidisciplinary review comprehensively assesses these emerging protein sources across nutrition, environmental performance, and consumer acceptance. It evaluates their amino acid composition, protein digestibility, micronutrient density, and health effects, and quantifies their environmental impacts using life cycle assessment indicators. Noticeable trade-offs in processing intensity, energy consumption, and production scalability are also discussed. Key factors shaping consumer adoption, including sensory traits, cultural perceptions, affordability, and food neophobia, are analyzed. This study further explores technological advances, circular economy strategies, regulatory updates, and policy support for protein transition, identifies critical research gaps, and proposes an integrated multi-dimensional evaluation framework. The findings provide practical guidance for researchers, industrial practitioners, and policymakers to build resilient, equitable, and eco-friendly protein systems benefiting both human and planetary health.”

9. 9

   Psychology of Eating the Future: Consumer Acceptance, Digital Influence and Behavioral Drivers of Novel Foods.

   Foods (Basel, Switzerland) (Manzoor et al.)Published Jul 12, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Of 1260 initial records, 310 duplicates were removed, 530 were excluded at title/abstract screening, 233 were excluded at full-text review, leaving 197 studies for the final synthesis. The focus is on understanding cultural contexts, cognitive biases, digital and social influences, and the global framing impacts that shape consumer adoption. Consumer perceptions and preferences are primarily influenced by health benefits, ethical concerns, and environmental sustainability; however, neophobia, sensory unfamiliarity, trust deficits, and price temper these factors. Preliminary evidence suggests that AI-generated personalization, transparent labeling, behavioral nudges, and social norms may be useful tools for overcoming resistance to change, though the effectiveness of AI-driven personalization in actual purchasing behavior is not yet firmly established. Cultural diversity affects acceptance routes, with culturally established insect consumption differing from Western neophobia. Future studies should integrate interdisciplinary methodologies, longitudinal cross-cultural analyses, and innovative technologies to enhance communication and product design.”