Delegations from Austria, France and Italy are expected to speak out against cultured meat production at a meeting of EU agriculture ministers next week.
In a letter to the Council of Ministers, the countries described the industry as a “threat to the dominant agriculture-based approach”.
They also said it was putting at risk “authentic food production methods that are at the very heart of Europe’s agricultural model.”
“We recall that the EU has never previously authorized animal products based on cell culture technology,” the delegation added.
“Assessing the development of cell-based artificial meat production therefore requires a transparent, science-based and comprehensive approach, which, in our view, is an important alternative to primary farm-based production. It’s not a sustainable alternative.”
Delegations from the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Hungary, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia supported this claim.
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The memo also notes that before cultivated food production can be considered a viable method of food production, there are “many issues that need to be thoroughly discussed among Member States, the European Commission, stakeholders and the general public.” “It raises questions.”
Some of the questions proposed include how to ensure the safety of lab-grown meat and how to “prevent the formation of monopolies or oligopolies in the food market.”
The document also raises concerns about the “real carbon footprint” of what is grown and whether the process provides better animal welfare standards.
In a statement sent to just food“This non-binding statement spreads misinformation about cultured meat and undermines Europe’s world-leading regulatory system,” said Alex Horst, senior policy manager at alternative protein nonprofit Good Food Institute Europe. It’s weakening.”
“The EU’s Horizons program and countries such as Germany, Spain and the Netherlands are already investing in cultured meat, recognizing its potential to improve food security, reduce emissions and meet growing demand for meat.
“An overhaul of the gold standard Novel Foods regulatory process is now completely unnecessary, as the US and China invest in cultured meat to boost their economies and create jobs of the future.” There is a risk that this will prevent the EU from playing a leading role in this area, just as it does.”
In an interview with a European news site Euractica diplomat called the action “highly exaggerated and premature.”
“This is an area that doesn’t yet exist, and at the moment it’s about innovation in the lab. Curbing this now will only hinder the very kind of innovation that is needed for sustainability,” they said.
The memo marks a new approach to cultured meat from Italy. Last November, the country banned the manufacture, sale and import of the product with the approval of parliamentarians.
The bill has been approved by each country’s lower house of parliament, but will ultimately need approval from the EU.
Singapore, the United States, and Israel are the only countries in the world that have approved the production of cultured meat so far.
Israel joined the list earlier this week by giving Aleph Farms the green light to sell its cultivated beef product Petit Steak.
In 2020, Eat Just’s subsidiary Good Meat received regulatory approval for farmed chicken in Singapore.
Last year, Eat Just and another US group, Upside Foods, received approval to produce and sell farmed chicken in the US market.
