The UK will start feeding lab-grown meat to pets this year
VergeJUL 14 2024
The UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have signed off on pet food made from lab-grown meat made by the company Meatly. It is the first European country to do so.
The first lab-grown food are expected to hit store shelves near the end of the year after taste tests are conducted with dogs. The first of its products, which are made from animal cells, will be Meatly's cultivated chicken.
This comes as the pet food industry is estimated to grow by 5% to $151B this year, with a recent UK poll showing 50% of pet owners willing to feed lab-grown meat to their animals and 32% saying they'd eat it themselves.