Source: Source: Halal Focus.
Lab-grown meat has become a topic of interest for startups, as the possibility of its being certified kosher or halal could open up access to millions of potential consumers among religious communities, writes journalist Nina Schretr in the Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps (July 15). Her article pays special attention to discussions in Israel, after the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, David Lau, stated in early 2023 in answer to a request from the Aleph Farms company that beef cultivated from stem cells could be considered pareve (neutral, neither meat nor dairy from the perspective of Jewish dietary laws) if marketed as a meat alternative, but not if called meat, looking like meat, or smelling like meat. Thus, although dairy products could theoretically be mixed with lab-grown meat without violating the prohibited association of dairy products with meat, cheeseburgers prepared with lab-grown meat should still be avoided, since they would look like the real ones and potentially induce sinful habits or lead to mistakes among Jewish believers.
On the other hand, the Orthodox Union Kosher, a kosher certification body based in the U.S., has taken a hard line. According to its CEO, “stem cells must come from a kosher slaughtered animal, otherwise they are non-kosher stem cells.” Such an approach would not help companies producing lab-grown meat, since they pride themselves on not sacrificing any animals. Meat or no meat, Arik Kaufman is confident that the products of his company, Steakholder Foods, will one day be kosher certified, and Schretr reports that Aleph Farms is already competing for the halal label. Debates are also starting among Muslims. Some religious experts are open to new approaches, but other ones are opposed. Schretr quotes Olivier Bauer, professor of theology and religious studies at the University of Lausanne: “There are Muslims who believe that this type of product was not created by God, and is therefore unfit for consumption, like artificial flavorings.”
In the U.S., two brands, Good Meat and Upside Foods, received permission in June to start producing lab-grown chicken. Neither has its products certified as halal or kosher (CNN, June 27). Since it is developed from animal cells, it cannot be considered as vegetarian either, although it may be an option for those “who don’t eat meat for animal welfare or environmental reasons.” A representative of the Hindu American Foundation ventured that many Hindus would probably consider as acceptable cultured meat not derived from cells harvested from killing an animal. However, the attitude about cultured chicken meat might differ when it comes to cows. And ISKCON global communications director Anuttama Dasa explained that cultured meat would still be considered as unclean from the Hare Krishna perspective, since such products would not be offerable to God before consumption. Lab-grown meat finds itself at the intersection of technological advancements in artificial meat production and religious dietary laws, with different religious communities responding differently to this emerging food technology.
(A slightly longer version of the article from Le Temps was first published on July 4 in the associated, paid-access online magazine in French, Heidi News: https://www.heidi.news/explorations/en-israel-dans-les-marmites-du-futur/en-israel-la-viande-artificielle-a-la-conquete-de-dieu)
