China/Israel Trade Deal Is a Win for Animals and the Environment

China signed a $300 million trade deal this month to import Israel’s slaughter-free meat technologies.

There is tremendous interest in Israel to produce economically feasible lab-grown meat. Several organizations (SuperMeat, The Modern Agriculture Foundation, and others) are actively pursuing the goal of bringing cultured meat to the market.

Growing cultured meat is a process in which a tiny amount of animal tissue is used in a laboratory setting to create real meat without slaughtering animals.

Lab-grown meat is often called "clean meat" because of its low environmental impact and because it doesn’t involve the use of GMOs, pesticides, antibiotics or hormones. Beyond these environmental and health benefits, animal welfare advocates praise lab-grown meat for its potential to save the lives of billions of animals.

Compared to current meat-producing industry, cultured meat production would require between 7 and 45 percent less energy, 90% less fresh water and 99% less land, and would result in 80 to 90% less greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere.

Currently, China is responsible for producing 30% of carbon dioxide emissions in the world. It consumes 28% of the world’s meat supply, yet its arable land is shrinking. The new deal with Israel fits perfectly into the country's drive towards cleaner, more sustainable agriculture. It also has the potential of steering billions of dollars in Chinese investments into the cultured meat technology.

Source: VegNews