The dominos are falling quickly and lab-grown meat is heading to a high-end restaurant near you.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Agricultural Department gave the approval to Upside Foods and Good Meat to sell lab-grown chicken meat to restaurants.
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It's the first time a company will be able to sell animal products from animals that weren't born, raised, and slaughtered like traditional meat.
While the idea of eating meat grown in a "cultivator" in a lab may be a bridge too far for some diners, the concept is getting a big boost from celebrity chef José Andrés.
A Washington D.C. restaurant operated by Andrés will debut lab-grown chicken after being one of two in the country selected by Good Meat to debut its product in the U.S.
Good Meat is already available for sale in Singapore after receiving approval in that country in 2020.
Andrés has been a part of Good Meat's board of directors since 2021 and sees Good Meat as critical to combating climate change.
"We need to innovate, to adapt our food to a planet in crisis. We need to create meals that feed the people at the same time as we sustain our communities and environment," Andrés said in a statement.
Among the advantages cited by industry proponents are avoiding raising and slaughtering millions of animals; the ability to build labs close to where people live, and the ability to use solar power directly to grow meat.
José Andrés did not disclose which of his six D.C. area restaurants would be serving the lab-grown meat.
