About ten years ago, I illustrated how technology and market cycles interacted with each other the first $250,000 lab-grown burger produced after months of work. A few years later, startups like Beyond Meat solved the problem of beef carbon-impact not with protein synthesis but with a smart cocktail of vegetal substitutes. And now lab-grown meat is coming back swinging as hard as ever, with the first authorized sale of lab-grown chicken nuggets in Singapore in 2021.
How long before Europe get there too? Less than three years, probably. Why? Because the canaries in this market mine are already there.
![](https://nltimes.nl/sites/nltimes.nl/files/styles/news_article_full/public/2022-03/Depositphotos_418291624_L.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=TjT6Uv-O)
Now obviously, the real question is about the U.S. (accounting for 21% of worldwide beef consumption). While China (16.5%) can move at breakneck speed when the central party deems something worth pushing forward, the U.S. will face another major electric vehicle moment: how do you settle with the powerful incumbent meat producers and their lobbies?