August 22, 2020
Dear editor;
The Farm System Reform Act, a bill championed by Cory Booker, which would ban factory farms, should include funding for cultured-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering animals. This technology would ameliorate many problems the Farm System Reform Act seeks to address.
Most obviously, cultured meat resolves concerns about animal welfare, because animals aren’t involved in the process. But it would benefit human health and the environment. Cultured meat is produced in a sterile environment and doesn’t require artificial growth hormones or unnecessary antibiotics. It requires a fraction of the greenhouse-gas emissions that raising livestock does.
The Farm System Reform Act should fund development of this revolutionary technology. Although cultured meat is fast approaching the market, it will be initially more expensive than its slaughtered, factory-farmed counterpart. It can be remedied by further research.
Jon Hochschartner, Granby, Conn.