Cultured meat refers to the concept of meat (which includes muscle cells, fat cells, connective tissue, blood, and other components) produced via cell culture, rather than from a whole slaughtered animal.

Making small amounts of animal muscle cells proliferated in culture has been demonstrated, but doing so affordably, alongside other cellular components of meat (such as fat) at a scale which would make cultured meat available to consumers has not yet been achieved.

Today, the production of cultured meat begins by taking a number of cells from an animal and proliferating them in a nutrient-rich culture medium, wherein they are capable of multiplying a number of times in vitro. Although a number of other intermediary steps would be necessary to produce them in large quantities, it is hoped that the resulting cultured animal cells can be harvested, seasoned, cooked, and consumed as meat products, such as sausage, hamburger, chicken nuggets, or perhaps even as a steak or chicken breast. Email science@new-harvest.org to learn more.