The rising popularity of meat substitutes raises many questions for farmers and the food system. The alternative protein market and plant-based analogs such as “meat” use a variety of plants such as soy, pea and wheat. Cellular Agriculture, or “lab meat” includes animal tissues grown without the animal, as well as milk and egg whites produced via fermentation techniques. While there are technical hurdles to overcome before hi-tech cultured “meat” products can hit the market, their development highlights competing visions of the future of agriculture and animal farming. This talk will critically assess the field of cellular agriculture and question its health, animal welfare and climate mitigation claims. What does the expansion of animal replacement products imply for Canadian farmers?
Presenter
Elisabeth Abergel is a professor in the Sociology Department and at the Institute of Environmental Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Trained as a molecular biologist, her research focuses on the relationship between technoscientific innovation in the life sciences, knowledge and power as they relate to food and agriculture. She is interested in the social and material dimensions of science and technology and how technologies embed particular values and fictions about rural worlds and the future of farming.
Webinar recording:
