Many People Seem Disgusted by The Thought of Eating Cultured Meat

A new study has shown that a lot of people don't like the idea of eating meat grown in a lab, which could be a problem if cultured meat is to be more eco-friendly.

We're talking about meat produced in the laboratory from real animal muscle cells. Around 35 percent of meat-eaters and 55 percent of vegetarians said that they were too disgusted by cultured meat to eat it.

It's clear that work needs to be done in changing attitudes towards this lab-grown food if it's going to be widely adopted by the mass.

"As a novel food that humans have never encountered before, cultured meat may evoke hesitation for seeming so unnatural and unfamiliar - and potentially so disgusting," the researchers write.

The researchers recruited groups of meat eaters and vegetarians and ran a series of tests to see how they would react to eating cultured meat.

The study participants were asked what they should not eat. They were asked to grade the responses to statements such as "cultured meat seems artificial" and "I would feel like I am eating something from an animal" to understand the underlying reasons behind any reactions of disgust.

The researchers say that work needs to be done to fight the idea that cultured meat is unnatural. This was a common response from all the volunteers, but reactions differed between those that eat meat and those that don't.

The lab-grown food is appealing to meat eaters but not to non- meat eaters. The first group doesn't like it as much as the second group, but they both agree that it's too similar to meat.

There are indications that the way cultured meat is described could change people's attitudes towards it. framing it as resembling animal flesh reduced disgust in meat eaters, but increased disgust in vegetarians.

The researchers propose that cognitive appraisals of cultured meat may induce disgust in vegetarians and meat-eaters.

Understanding why people reject cultured meat may be important to understanding why they reject it.

The amount of water used and the volume of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere can be reduced if current farming methods for cultured meat are swapped out. It would reduce the risk of disease in animals.

Consumer reaction to cultured meat has been investigated before, with product pricing and distrust of food scientists also considered, along with a feeling of disgust at actually eating meat that's been produced in a laboratory setting.

Cultured meat is not currently available in many places. It's going to be a while before most of us are comfortable eating it, if the results of this particular piece of research are anything to go by.

The researchers say that understanding the basic appraisals eliciting this disgust response is critical for promoting sustainable consumption. The benefits of shifting from conventionally produced meat to cultured meat are immense.

The Journal of Environmental Psychology has published the research.