Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 1/28/19


Players on all sides of the animal protein and substitutes markets breathed a sigh of relief in November when USDA and FDA agreed on joint regulation of the cell-cultured meat industry in the U.S. The public display of inter-agency cooperation clarified the direction the federal government was heading regarding the intersection of two nascent technologies and an industry that’s been part of the American identity for 200 years.

Far from resolving the issue, though, the November announcement set the stage for more of the same in 2019 and beyond. Like the conventional meat production and processing business, cell-cultured meat companies and those that produce plant-based meat analogues promise to be among the country’s most regulated, legislated and litigated industries in the country.

“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the level playing field,” says Mark Dopp, the North American Meat Institute’s general counsel and senior vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs. For the meat industry, a “level playing field” starts with the same level of government oversight the conventional meat industry has had for more than 100 years.

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