Cellular Agriculture

This chapter considers the relationship of cellular agriculture to vegans and veganism. Growing meat from animal cells has been hailed as a potential tool to reduce global meat consumption and reduce animal suffering where moral, environmental, and health claims have failed. But despite seeming overlaps between the two, cellular agriculture and veganism run into a number of potentially irreconcilable tensions around philosophy, dietary practice, and movement strategy. This chapter offers an introduction to cellular agriculture and situates it in the contemporary political-economic and social context. It then explores two key tensions with veganism. First, it examines the debate over whether cell-cultured meat can be considered vegan and, therefore, whether vegans can eat it. Second, it examines the debate over whether vegans should support or oppose the development of cellular agriculture. It concludes with a reflection on how technology troubles fixed ethical and dietary schemas.