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Our agri-food system today should provide enough healthy food of good quality for the growing human population. However, it should also preserve natural resources and better protect livestock. In this context, some FoodTech companies are developing a disruptive approach: cell culture for in vitro food production of “meat” but this technology is still at the research and development stage. This article will highlight its development, the technologies used and the stakeholders involved (Part 1), its potential environmental impacts (Part 2) but also regulatory, social and ethical issues (Part 3). This article aims to shed light throughout the manuscript on two major controversies related to “cultured meat”. The first controversy is related to its ethical aspects, which includes different points: its potential to reduce animal suffering and therefore to improve animal welfare, the future values of our society, and a trend towards food artificialisation. The second controversy includes environmental, health and nutritional issues, in relation to the characteristics and quality of “cultured meat” with an important question: should we call it meat? These two controversies act in interaction in association with related societal, legal and consequently political issues. Answers to the various questions depend on the different visions of the World by stakeholders, consumers and citizens. Some of them argue for a moderate or a strong reduction in livestock farming, or even the abolition of livestock farming perceived as an exploitation of farm animals. Others just want a reduction of the current much criticised intensive/industrial model. Compared with other potential sustainable solutions to be implemented such as reduction of food losses and waste, new food consumption habits with less proteins of animal sources, sustainable intensification, development of agroecological livestock production, or the development of the market for other meat substitutes (proteins from plants, mycoproteins, algae, insects, etc.), “cultured meat” has an uncertain future.

La baisse de la consommation individuelle de viande bovine s’explique par des questions sociétales relatives à l’environnement et au bien-être animal, mais aussi par son prix d’achat et par la variabilité non maîtrisée et décevante de la qualité sensorielle, d’après des enquêtes auprès des consommateurs. Cet article se propose de synthétiser les connaissances scientifiques sur le déterminisme de la qualité sensorielle de la viande bovine et leur application concrète pour classer les viandes bovines. Cette qualité sensorielle dépend des caractéristiques biologiques des tissus musculaires en relation avec les pratiques d’élevage, la race, le sexe et l’âge de l’animal mais aussi pour une grande part des évolutions biologiques du muscle au cours de la maturation de la viande. Les systèmes de classement des carcasses et des viandes prennent peu en compte ces éléments à l’exception de la note de persillé dans certains pays. Le système MSA (Meat Standards Australia) et son équivalent européen (le système 3G) sont en capacité de prédire pour chaque pièce de boucherie la qualité sensorielle de la viande bovine, non pas directement à partir des indicateurs de la biologie musculaire avant et après abattage, mais à partir de facteurs qui régulent ces indicateurs tels que les caractéristiques des animaux et de leurs carcasses, et les conditions d’abattage, de maturation et de cuisson. D’autres recherches sont en cours pour améliorer cette prédiction en utilisant divers outils (spectromètre, caméra…) en mesurant sur la chaîne de production des critères spécifiques pris en compte par ces modèles, notamment le persillé.

We hypothesized that transportation might impact beef sensory quality, particularly as the distance between farms and the slaughterhouse increases. Specifically, we expected that pre-slaughter transport over longer distances would induce stress in the cattle, resulting in elevated ultimate pH and, consequently, reduced beef quality. Thus, this study aimed to specifically study the effects of transport in commercial conditions of Limousin cows from farms located in different areas of France to slaughter on ultimate pH (pHu) measured in the Longissimus thoracis muscle (LT), marbling (two major factors affecting eating quality) and the MSA Index (a global indicator of potential eating quality at the carcass level). Cattle were studied according to distance (

The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on willingness to try (WTT), regularly eat (WTE), or pay (WTP) for artificial meat, its expected societal challenges and general acceptance as well as its future potential development in Germany. Answers to an online questionnaire by 3,558 potential German adult consumers were evaluated. About 63% of the respondents thought this novel food was promising/acceptable. The vast majority (70%) stated that they would be willing to try it, with the most important drivers being ethics, curiosity and eco-friendliness. Around 57% of the participants said they would be willing to eat artificial meat regularly. Most of the respondents (40%) were willing to pay the same price for artificial as for conventional meat. In terms of its future potential, almost 75% of respondents believed that this new product would become commercialized in more than five years and that it was perceived as a solution that is both more ethical (67%) and more environmentally friendly (58%) than traditional meat. In addition, there were significant impacts of demographic factors on the willingness to engage with artificial meat. For example, high WTT and WTE were found among young male respondents (18–30 years of age), males that rarely consumed meat or had a low income (< €1,500). This also applied to the female respondents, who, however, belonged to higher income classes. Young German consumers with a high level of education or income up to €3,000 as well as consumers who did not eat meat had a high WTP for this novel food. In addition, respondents’ positive opinion and acceptance of artificial meat had a positive influence on WTT and WTP. These results are important for the discussion of a paradigm shift in global meat production with respect to sustainability, demand for meat and the adoption of new food products.

Cell-based food, including cultured meat, introduces an innovative complement to our dietary options, introducing cellular agriculture and tissue engineering on the meat market together with traditional livestock farming. Originating from medical tissue cultivation techniques, this approach is now tailored for food production, prioritizing cost-effectiveness, palatability, and resource efficiency. As technology strives to efficiently upscale production, consumer acceptance stands as a key factor in adopting this new protein source. This review explores advances in cultivating muscle and fat tissues in vitro, emphasizing the importance of achieving muscle maturity, innovating scaffolds, and optimizing media composition to closely replicate the qualities of meat. It also addresses quality assessments of cultured meat based on its texture, nutritional content, and flavor. A concise examination of consumer perceptions reveals that acceptance is influenced by a blend of cultural, psychological, and social factors, balancing the positive potential outlook on cultured meat’s benefits for society, the environment, and animal welfare against concerns about its unnaturalness, uncertainty, and safety. Demographic trends suggest higher acceptance among younger, well-educated and urban individuals, contrasting with reservations from those more familiar with the traditional meat sector. Addressing these varied viewpoints is essential for a better understanding of public acceptance if cultured meat is effectively introduced into our future food systems. As media interest in this alternative is still high, aligning technological developments with consumer expectations is crucial for the potential market introduction of cultured meat.

The aim of this study was to investigate how consumers (n = 2,171) originated from South-Western Europe (Italy, Portugal, and Spain) perceive cultured “meat” (CM) and if their demographic characteristics (origin, gender, age, education, occupation, and meat consumption) are related to their willingness to try (WTT), to regularly eat (WTE) and to pay (WTP) for CM. We found the current respondents had an initially positive attitude towards CM: 49% of them perceived CM as “promising and/or acceptable” and 23% “fun and/or intriguing” whereas 29% considered it as “absurd and/or disgusting”. In addition, 66 and 25% would be willing and not willing to try CM, respectively. However, 43% had no WTE for CM and, 94% would not pay more for CM compared to conventional meat. Age and especially occupation were good indicators of consumer acceptance of CM. Respondents of 18–30 years of age had the highest acceptance. Respondents outside the meat sector had the highest WTE and people working within the meat sector had the lowest WTE, scientists (within or outside the meat sector) had the highest WTT, people not scientists but within the meat sector had the lowest WTT. Additionally, we found that men are more likely to accept CM than women, Spanish-speaking consumers had the highest WTT and WTE, people with vegan and vegetarian diets may pay more for CM but generally no more than for conventional meat. The perceptions that CM may be more eco-friendly, ethical, safe and healthy than conventional meat, and to a lower extent, the perception that current meat production causes ethical and environmental problems are likely to be major motives for the current respondents to try, regularly eat and pay for CM. On the opposite, lower perceptions of CM benefits and of conventional meat weaknesses more generally, plus emotional resistance towards CM are main barriers to accept CM.

The misuse of antibiotics in the animal sector is the main driver of antibiotic resistance. More than 80% of Italian beef cattle imported from France are Charolais, which undergo a commingling procedure before reaching Italian fattening farms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of commingling Charolais cattle in France on antibiotic use (AMU) and animals’ performances in Italy. A total of 19,756 young bulls from 449 batches transported to Italy between 2016 and 2018 were considered. Carcase weight (CW), slaughter age (SA), antibiotic treatments, vaccinations information and the French department of origin were available for each animal. Also, treatment incidence 100 (TI100it) and average daily carcase gain (ADCG) were calculated. Three classes of commingling were assigned to each animal according to the French department of origin. A linear mixed model was used to investigate sources of variation of CW, SA, ADCG and TI100it. Respiratory diseases were the main reasons for treatment and macrolides were the most used class of antibiotics. The TI100it decreased by 11% from 2016 to 2018 (p < .05). Animals that went through the highest level of commingling had lighter CW, lower ADCG and greater TI100it than animals subjected to lower commingling (p < .05). Younger animals reached higher TI100it than older ones (p < .05). Younger and highly commingled animals had higher TI100it (p < .001) than older animals equally commingled. This first-of-its-kind study showed that commingling procedures increase the risk of AMU and affect the performances of Charolais cattle.HIGHLIGHTS Commingling procedures increase the use of antibiotics and penalise animals’ performances. Younger and highly commingled animals are at greater risk of being treated. Reducing commingling levels can be an effective strategy to reduce antibiotic use in beef cattle.