‘The Chicken’: World’s First Cell-Based Meat Restaurant Launches in Israel

23 Nov 2020

Cell-based or cultured meat alternatives are taking over the alt protein market by providing a life-like imitation of animal meat products. The industry is said to grow at a CAGR of 15.7% between 2025 and 2032. Israel has seen the launch of the world’s first lab-grown meat restaurant called ‘The Chicken’, now open near Tel Aviv. The restaurant was founded by SuperMeat, a food tech company which produces cultured chicken meat and supplies it to the restaurant.

Founded in 2015, SuperMeat uses cellular agriculture to produce chicken meat. The lab harvests cells from healthy chickens to create what they call “the seed”, which is fermented and fed in a controlled environment, until it grows into meat similar to what is found in the animal. Once the meat is mature, it is ready to be cooked.

SuperMeat believes in reducing the suffering of animals for food, as well as manufacturing meat in a sustainable manner. They do not engage in genetic engineering of the cells and provide a healthy and high-quality alternate meat product. The process of production requires less time, resources and labour than factory-farmed meat.

The restaurant is currently in its test phase and offers two chicken burgers on its menu which are made of “crispy cultured chicken fillet” matching the taste of meat from the animal. Currently, they are not charging customers and are instead asking for feedback.

Factory farming of animals is a leading cause of climate change, due to its overuse of resources like water, land, and food and a huge amount of carbon and methane emissions. The cell-based meat industry provides a cruelty-free and sustainable substitute to factory-farmed animal meat.

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