Two California Companies Will Soon Sell Lab-Grown Meat

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/30/us/california-lab-grown-meat.html

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A state long known for pushing the envelope, California is once again at the center of a new technological trend: lab-grown meat.

The U.S. Agriculture Department last week approved the sale of meat grown from stem cells, a watershed moment for the alternative protein industry. To be clear, this isn’t another plant-based meat substitute like Impossible or Beyond burgers, but something that seems much closer to science fiction: actual meat cultivated from animal cells.

“This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table,” Dr. Uma Valeti, the chief executive and founder of Upside Foods, said in a statement. Upside Foods and another company, Good Meat, are the only two companies in the country that have been given the federal clearance. Both are based in the Bay Area.

“It’s a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future — one that preserves choice and life,” Valeti said.

Upside, which has facilities in Berkeley and Emeryville, has partnered with the chef Dominique Crenn, who will begin to serve the company’s lab-grown chicken at her San Francisco restaurant, Bar Crenn, in the coming weeks. Good Meat, based in Alameda, plans to begin selling its own cultivated chicken to the chef José Andrés to use at China Chilcano, his restaurant in Washington, D.C., company officials told me.

So what, exactly, is lab-grown meat? I’ll let my colleague Kim Severson, who last year wrote an excellent deep dive on the burgeoning industry, explain:

The United States is only the second country to approve the sale of meat grown from stem cells; Singapore was the first in 2020. That year, Good Meat debuted cultivated meat for sale at a private club in Singapore, where the company, as Kim wrote, “tucked the meat into a bao bun and turned it into a crisp patty on a maple waffle.”

The arrival of lab-grown meat isn’t without pushback. While supporters say growing meat in tanks will bring environmental benefits and relieve animal suffering, opponents worry it could be scientifically risky and create allergens and untested byproducts.

There’s even debate about what to call this new product. Supporters prefer “cultivated” or “clean” meat, while opponents like “synthetic” or “engineered” meat. The Agriculture Department is still drafting regulations on how the products should be labeled, but for now the agency is going with “cell cultivated chicken.”

Crenn, the San Francisco chef, told The New York Times last year that she was initially turned off by the idea of cooking with cultivated meat.

“I love farmers and ranchers. That is not what I am against,” she said. “I am against factory farming. That is not sustainable.”

The first cultivated breast meat Crenn tasted was a bit mushy, she said, but the flavor reminded her of poulet rouge, a heritage breed from France.

Soon, an “exquisite signature dish” featuring the cultivated chicken will grace her restaurant’s menu.

Housing crisis: Officials in Washington State and Vermont recently banned single-family zoning in response to the housing crisis in San Francisco, Politico reports. The city’s problems are prompting Democrats across the country to spend political capital trying to address housing affordability issues in their states.

Senate candidate: The former Google executive Lexi Reese announced that she was entering the race to succeed Senator Dianne Feinstein, The Associated Press reports.

Judiciary seat: The question of whether Republicans would block Democrats from filling Feinstein’s seat on the Judiciary Committee if she were to resign has big implications for the Senate and California politics.

Speaker resignation: Anthony Rendon, who on Monday became the second-longest-serving speaker in California State Assembly history, will step down today, The Associated Press reports.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

LAX: Los Angeles International Airport is expecting some of its highest daily passenger counts since the pandemic, The Los Angeles Times reports.

Homelessness: The number of people in Los Angeles County living in cars, on the sidewalks or in tucked-away tents, or sleeping in shelters, rose by 9 percent from a year ago.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Train depot restoration: A $20 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration will help pay to restore downtown Fresno’s old Southern Pacific train depot, The Fresno Bee reports.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Megachurch: In Redding, a city of 90,000, a megachurch has garnered a following of roughly 11,000 congregants and has begun to wield significant political influence, SFGate reports.

Environmental protection: Federal officials announced $52 million in funding for two dozen projects to restore wildlife and protect and clean areas around San Francisco Bay, East Bay Times reports.

Opioid epidemic: San Francisco could become the first city in the country to require its pharmacies to carry the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, The Associated Press reports.

Today’s tip comes from Ed Lanfranco, who recommends a walk in Fresno:

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

What’s your favorite part of summer in California? Music festivals, going to the beach or the longer days? Something else?

Email me at CAtoday@nytimes.com with your responses. Please include your name and the city where you live.

A junkyard in South Los Angeles has been transformed into a place of healing and solace.

In one of the most park-poor parts of Southern California, the Survivors Healing Garden is now blooming with fragrant culinary herbs, newly planted trees and low-water California native plants, The Los Angeles Times reports. The garden is the project of Oya Sherrills, who has worked tirelessly to transform it into a place where survivors of violent crime can find comfort.

“For us, the garden is a physical manifestation of peace,” Sherrills told the news outlet. “Everyone is welcome here.”

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Wednesday because of the July 4 holiday. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.

Briana Scalia and Allison Honors contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.