YouGov study on attitudes and expectations surrounding lab-grown meat finds significant scepticism, although men and younger people are more enthusiastic.

It sounds like science fiction, but one day it could be more common for people to eat meat that was grown in a vat rather than on a farm. Scientists around the world are currently developing ‘lab-grown meat’ – also known as ‘cultivated meat’ or ‘cultured meat’ – which is meat grown from animal cells in steel tanks.

Optimistic suggestions give the potential size of the global cultivate-meat market as $25 billion by 2030, but there is room for significantly more growth beyond this – the total animal-meat market is estimated to grow to $1.7bn by 2032. This of course depends on people taking to the new form of food – and as we have seen with GM foods, technological innovations in food supply can face significant resistance.

So how open are the British public to eating meat that never mooed or oinked or clucked? A new YouGov survey finds that while 74% of Britons were aware of lab-grown meat prior to our asking, currently only a quarter (26%) say that they would probably eat lab-grown meat if it were available commercially. This represents only a modest seven point increase from YouGov asked previously in 2012.

Men are substantially more likely to say they would be willing to eat lab-grown meat than women (36% vs 16%), as are younger people when compared to older people (36% of 18-24 year olds versus 18% of the over-65s).

The biggest meat-eating fans – those who say they “love eating meat” – appear neither more enthusiastic nor more sceptical than the wider public, with 29% saying they would probably eat lab-grown meat.

It also appears that 10% of non-meat eaters are prepared to consume meat that did not result in the death of an animal. A key question that remains to be settled when lab-grown meat becomes a commercial reality is whether its consumption conforms with religious laws and vegetarian or vegan principles.

That latter point has been explored by YouGov previously, when in 2021 we asked vegans and vegetarians directly whether it is acceptable. Both groups were deeply divided, and many unsure.

Should lab-grown meat be allowed?

To date, only the US, Israel and Singapore have approved the production of cultivated meat. Elsewhere, Italy has banned its production, as have some US states like Florida and Alabama.

With a quarter of Britons being able to see themselves eating lab-grown meat, the number who think it should be allowed at all is not enormously higher, with only 34% saying they support allowing lab-grown meat to be sold commercially for human consumption.

More than four in ten Britons (44%) currently oppose lab-grown meat for human consumption

Lab-grown meat has, in fact, been recently approved for sale in the UK – but only in pet food. There is significantly more backing among the public for this – 48% of Britons support allowing our furry friends to eat lab-grown meat, compared to 30% who remain opposed.

When it comes to human consumption of lab-grown meat, support and opposition tend to follow the same trends as willingness to eat lab-grown meat in the first place: men and young people are generally in favour of allowing people to eat it, while women and older people are not.

Expectations for lab-grown meat: public most see benefits for animal welfare and sustainability, and relatively few express health concerns

Proponents of lab-grown meat frequently point to the animal welfare and environmental benefits of the new food type. The public likewise are most likely to already expect these benefits from the new technology.

Almost half of Britons (47%) believe that lab-grown meat will be better for animal welfare – although this might be a surprisingly low figure in the circumstances. Current lab-grown meat processes will require a constant supply of new cells from animals, and some versions of the technology gather those cells from recently slaughtered animals, although they can also be obtained by biopsy.

One in five say lab-grown meat will be no better or worse for animal welfare than traditional meat, while 11% think it will actually be worse for animal welfare.

More than four in ten also think lab-grown meat will be more environmentally sustainable than traditional meat (43%). Only 11% think it will be less sustainable, while 16% think it will be about the same. The reality of this is unclear at present – while lab-grown meat processes require less water, land and fertilisers, the energy requirements are more substantial.

Notably, Britons who don’t eat meat are significantly more likely to say that lab-grown meat will be better for animal welfare (67%) and the environment (59%) than meat eaters (42-46%).

Perhaps the biggest concern for those developing lab-grown meat will be that the public would have health concerns about the new technology. Claims have been made that lab-grown meat could cause cancer, although scientists and food safety bodies like the American US Food and Drug Administration have debunked such accusations.

As it stands, food safety does not prove to be the most common concern when it comes to lab-grown meat – only 27% of Britons think cultivated meat will be less safe to eat than traditional meat (although 33% are still unsure). Currently four in ten think either that lab-grown meat will be about as safe to eat as traditional meat (24%) or will in fact be safer (16%).

The most common negative expectation when it comes to lab-grown meat is that it will be more expensive than regular meat, at 40%. Only half as many think it will be cheaper (19%), while 11% think it will cost about the same. The first ever lab-grown beef burger was eaten in 2013, and cost over $325,000 to produce, and in Singapore – the only place where lab-grown meat can currently be bought commercially – it is not widely available and expensive, despite loss-leading pricing.

On the key issue of how they think lab-grown meat will taste, the public are currently divided. A third (35%) believe it would taste worse than traditional meat, with a similar number thinking it will taste either about the same (30%) or even better (3%).

What animal meat should manufacturers be allowed to grow?

If meat can be grown in industrial settings rather than needing to be farmed or hunted, this raises the prospect that meat from more exotic, possibly endangered, animals can be grown and marketed without any negative impact on population numbers. Or, likewise, that meat from more mundane animals that are not normally eaten – perhaps because they don’t contain a huge amount of meat in the first place – can be produced.

So what animal examples do the public think lab-grown meat producers should be allowed to making. Topping the list are, unsurprisingly, traditional ‘food’, with 51-54% saying so for chicken, cow, salmon, pig, sheep and duck.

Despite the implication that lab-grown meat would not require the slaughter of animals, nor be subject to the same food safety risks of eating e.g. wild animals, the public are significantly less likely to think it would be acceptable to create lab-grown meat from animals not traditionally eaten as food.

The public are split 40-41% on whether lab-grown octopus meat should be allowed, while only a minority say so for horse (21%), crow (13%), dolphin (10%), elephant (10%), cat (9%), dog (9%), chimpanzee (7%), and that most forbidden of meats: human (4%).

The trend in these results closely mirrors that of how acceptable the public thinks it is to eat these animals in the traditional way, according to comparison results from a previous YouGov study conducted in May.

See the full results here