Community
Print
French politician Julien Denormandie has sparked controversy online after declaring ‘meat comes from life, not laboratories’.
The comment follows recent news that Singapore has become the world’s first country to regulatory approve of cultured meat – and will commercially debut cultivated chicken from Eat Just in the near future.
‘Never artificial’
Denormandie, who currently serves as France’s Minister of Agriculture, retweeted an article on the groundbreaking news, captioned: “Is this really the society we want for our children?
“[For] me, no. I say it clearly: meat comes from life, not from laboratories. Count on me so that in France, meat remains natural and never artificial!”
‘An innovative production method’
The tweet was met with controversy, most notably from Agriculture Cellulaire France – an association that aims to ‘inform and fuel reflection round cellular agriculture’.
The organization wrote: “It would be a shame to reject from the outset an innovative production method that would allow France to be competitive in the growing field of alternative proteins.
“Instead, let’s promote the development of a French sector that guarantees quality!”
‘A new space race’
Experts say Singapore’s approval of cultured meat will spark a ‘new space race for the future of food’.
In a statement sent to Plant Based News GFI Executive Director Bruce Friedrich said: “As nations race to divorce meat production from industrial animal agriculture, countries that delay their investment in this bright food future risk getting left behind.”
Friedrich added whichever government manages to rid the need of living animals for meat production will have ‘bragging rights until the end of time’.
