The future of cultured meat between sustainability expectations and socio-economic challenges

The world-intensive livestock farming is currently under pressure because of its environmental, human health, and animal welfare impacts. Scientists, policymakers, and investors envisage alternative production systems and more sustainable diets, replacing meat with alternative protein sources. One potential scenario is represented by cultured meat, produced by taking cells from a living animal, then grown in a laboratory environment. Relying upon the up-to-date available literature on the topic, this chapter aims to present the multiple facets that cultured meat embraces: from the most debated issues, such as the environmental benefits and consumers perception, to some less analyzed aspects, including legislation and nomenclature, as well some expected supply chain impacts which may derive from the scaling up of cultured meat production in the next future.