From Free-Range to Cruelty-Free

As individuals become more aware of the environmental and ethical concerns that arise from meat consumption, a growing number of people have turned away from eating meat. Uma Valenti, however, envisions a future in which meat eating is not only environmentally responsible, but a more ethical decision to make. His company, Memphis Meats, grows meat products in a lab using stem cells. By sourcing and cultivating different cell types, Valenti’s company is able to produce a variety of meat products in a much more sustainable way. Completely removing the animal from the equation and therefore eliminating any potential for suffering, this Silicon Valley startup may redefine what it means to be vegan.

Growing up in a small town in India, Valenti had acquired a taste for meat from a very early age; meat was associated with celebrations as it was often served as the main meal at family functions. In his adolescence, however, Valenti had a series of experiences that slowly drew him away from meat eating. When he was twelve years old, he witnessed the slaughter of animals that would eventually be served as food at a birthday party. Later at medical school, Valenti was tasked with acquiring produce for the student lead cafeteria. He would visit markets where he would often see animals being slaughtered. It was at these markets where Valenti noticed the inefficiency of raising animals for food.

Valenti eventually was awarded a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic where he trained as a cardiologist. It was in a clinical setting where Valenti developed an interest in how stem cells regenerate cardiac tissue after a heart attack. Valenti wondered if he could use this same process as a method to grow meat. His vision became a reality when he founded Memphis Meats. With the help of investors, Valenti and his colleagues were able to fund research into a process that they hoped would make the horrors of factory farming a thing of the past. One of the benefits of this process, Valenti argues, is that cultured meat would be free from contamination. Because it is grown in a sterile, nutrient-rich environment, cultured meat will not contain any bacteria or antibiotics that can cause foodborne illnesses. In an attempt to reduce consumer stigma, Valenti has offered to hold public tours of the production facility so that consumers can see how clean and safe the process is, something that cannot be said of slaughterhouses. One drawback of this process, Valenti points out, is the high price of the cultured meat. At $40 per gram, this product is by no means cheap. He predicts, however, that with the advancements in technology, that price can drop to around a few cents per gram and rival the cost of meat produced the traditional way!

Much like Gardner argues in Creating Minds, Valenti’s creativity is a byproduct of the circumstances and relevance to the problems facing society. Gardner argues that “Einstein was fortunate…in that the questions he pondered turned out to be relevant to the physics of his day” and had “[Einstein] been born twenty years later…his [talents] might well have proved ill-suited” (127).  Likewise, one of the reasons Valenti’s company has been gaining momentum in recent years is because it seeks to solve an ethical and environmental issue facing society: factory farming. The relevance that this issue has is one of the reasons why Valenti’s vision has precipitated into a tangible product. Gardner further writes that Einstein “retained a willingness to take a stab into the unknown” (113). Likewise, Valenti’s deviance from the status quo is what makes his vision of the future so unique. By redefining how meat is produced, Valenti and his company are on track to make a more just world for animals and humans alike.


http://www.memphismeats.com/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cargill-backs-cell-culture-meat-1503486002

https://samharris.org/podcasts/meat-without-murder/

Creating Minds by Howard Gardner