Why antibiotic-use foes should be wary of lab-grown meat

If consumers have the perception that too many antibiotics are used to raise chickens, turkeys, hogs and cattle, they would certainly be turned off by the cell-cultured meat movement, said Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor and air quality specialist in the department of animal science at University of California-Davis (UC-Davis). Mitloehner’s colleague told him that when working with cells, an extremely sterile environment is necessary. Mitloehner said he then asked him if antibiotics were used to create that sterile environment. His response, according to Mitloehner, was “They are floating in a lake of antibiotics. Every cell is totally surrounded by antibiotics during their entire growth period.”With that piece of knowledge alone, Mitloehner said he can’t see consumers who are concerned about antimicrobial resistance embracing cell-cultured foods.“Who is their right mind would eat that kind of stuff,” he rhetorically asked attendees at symposium. “Would you feed that to your kids?”