In just two years, between 2017 and 2018, investments in companies producing plant-based meat, milk and egg substitutes reached $ 14 billion. “To date there are 800 companies in the world that make alternatives to meat, 90 of which work on cells in vitro”, says Gilles Luneau, author of the book “Artificial Meat? No, thanks ”published by Castelvecchi. But is Italy ready to consume artificial meat? According to Ettore Prandini, president of Coldiretti, no: “95% of Italians would never eat synthetic meat if it arrived on the market, with an almost plebiscitary rejection for steak made in the laboratory from stem cells taken from the muscle of a bovine”, he said on the occasion of the launch in Italy of Luneau’s book. On the issue of the environmental impact of farms, the president of Coldiretti reiterates the high Italian standards: “Italian meat comes from a breeding system that has no equal in the world for safety and quality, which provides for the adoption of controlled forms of nutrition , restrictive breeding regulations and electronic traceability systems “.
But what are we talking about when we talk about meat in a test tube? “In truth, we are talking about meat substitutes – replies Luneau – in English we say” plant based meat “, even if these substitutes are not based on plants, but based on vegetable proteins extracted from vegetables, or artificially produced through genetic modification . They are ultra-processed foods, and certainly not vegetables close to nature. Artificial meat is produced in a chemical laboratory ».
“Whether we are talking about meat, rather than smoking or alcohol, when we talk about the possible harmful effects on health we cannot lose sight of the fact that the main issue is the distinction between consumption and abuse of certain foods – recalled Paolo De Castro, coordinator of the S&D group in the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament -. Here in Parliament, in particular in the Agriculture Committee where I work, we are working to write rules that inform people correctly, without influencing them when buying this or that product “.