Imagine a way to produce meat without slaughtering animals. Instead of raising livestock on farms, Uma Valeti, a cardiologist, and co-founder of Upside Foods, dreamt of a way to “grow” meat in a production facility, by culturing animal cells.

A recent executive order from the Biden administration, which calls for advancing innovative solutions in climate change and food security, including “cultivating alternative food sources,” was viewed by many in the nascent cultivated food industry as a sign of increased momentum toward approval. The USDA is currently developing labeling requirements.

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It has taken years of experimentation by a crew of biologists, biochemists and engineers to turn that concept into a product ready to eat. Now the company is awaiting a greenlight from the Food and Drug Administration to begin selling its first cultivated meat products, including a chicken fillet.

After four years of talks with regulators at the FDA, Valeti anticipates this could happen “in the very near future.” When it does, Upside’s production facility in Emeryville, Calif., will be able to produce over 50,000 pounds of cultivated meat products per year.

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