100 Dr. Garrett Broad: Cultured Meat: Present and Future Considerations

Garrett Broad is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University and the author of More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change (University of California Press, 2016). His research investigates the role of storytelling and communication technology in promoting networked movements for social justice. Much of his work focuses on local and global food systems, as he explores how food can best contribute to improved neighborhood health, environmental sustainability, and the rights and welfare of animals.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Garrett Broad discuss the emerging culture around cellular meat and the changing space for this product in the marketplace.  Therese and Dr. Broad discuss how the animal cells are acquired, the process of growing the “meat" in a lab, and the types of products currently, and possibly in the future, grown in laboratories.  They also discuss how food activists can make beneficial impacts on food justice and food sovereignty and change "food deserts" or "food swamps” and the communities in which they are embedded. 

 Key Takeaways:

• In food deserts, the problem is the nutritional quality of available foods, as well as the cultural and economic interests of the area.
• Ground “meat” is the most likely type of food that we are going to be seeing from cell-cultured products, most likely mixed with plant-based products.
• Cultured animal products have the potential to reduce animal suffering, but the impacts on the planet are not yet certain.
• Still in development are the specific rules for FDA and USDA oversight of the safety and quality of the cellular products.

"I don’t think there’s any way cell-cultured meat gets to market in any serious way without getting off of FBS (fetal bovine serum)." —  Dr. Garrett Broad

Connect with Dr. Garrett Broad:  

Twitter: @GarrettBroad

Website: GarrettBroad.com

Book: More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change

Articles: Why We Should Make room for Debate about High-Tech Meat

Plant-based and cell-based animal product alternatives: An assessment and agenda for food tech justice

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

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