Competing Vitalities: Separating the Real from the Fake in the Search for Authenticity

This chapter will expand the concept of competing vitalities included in the title of the book. The concept of competing vitalities is central to understanding the dynamics of food, particularly in the context of cell-based meat (CM) and traditional farming. Vitality refers to the life force or energy inherent in living organisms, whether it be the plants, animals, or microbes that make up our food systems. In the case of food, this vitality exists before consumption—food is alive in various ways before it is harvested, processed, or prepared for eating. In traditional farming, these vitalities interact within complex ecosystems. Plants and animals, along with the humans who cultivate and care for them, participate in a web of life that is both cooperative and competitive. For instance, in traditional farming, livestock are part of a broader ecosystem, interacting with pastures, predators, and human caretakers. These interconnected vitalities form a dynamic system in which the life force of one organism is often dependent on, or in competition with, others. When it comes to CM, the notion of competing vitalities becomes even more pronounced. CM involves the cultivation of animal cells in a lab, where the vitality of these cells is manipulated, managed, controlled, and appropriated. This process abstracts the vitality of the living animal, reducing it to a form of biological material that can be manipulated outside of its natural ecosystem. In doing so, CM creates a new kind of vitality—one that is disconnected from the traditional life processes of farming and the broader ecosystems in which it is embedded.