By Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison, founders of Trim Healthy Mama
We have spent the last decade and a half encouraging protein fueling, especially for women (who notoriously under eat it). It is a core building block for healthy, moving bodies, safe and steady blood sugar, and the basis of human metabolism. We’ve put our flag in this scientific fact. But when someone first told us about steak grown in a steel tank, our honest reaction was: “What the? Are you trying to ruin our day?” Our second reaction was simpler: given the choice, we would never eat it.
But “I’d never eat it” isn’t enough apparently. Lab-grown meat (its makers prefer “cultivated” or “cell-based”) is no longer science fiction. Over 3 billion dollars has been invested in its creation, it has been approved by the USDA for sale, is being served in select restaurants, and is now the subject of debate on whether it should hit everyday grocery stores. Every family that cares about real food should be paying attention, because now “getting enough protein” could quickly become a guessing game on whether it’s real or lab grown.
This isn’t the first battle in the war for better food. When genetically modified crops filled grocery shelves, families pushed back and demanded organic options. When we learned how much glyphosate and other “forever chemicals” were being sprayed on the food we feed our children, we called for better ways to grow food that don’t undermine our nation’s health. Each time, the issue has come down to transparency. Tell us what we’re eating, and let us choose.
Now we’re calling for transparency on a whole new level, because the question has changed. It used to be “WHERE is my meat from?” And is it grass fed? To, “Should this be called meat at all? And should it even be legal to sell?”
Let’s talk for a moment about the process behind these so-called lab grown “meats”. We’re not talking “Impossible Burger” here (though some of the plant-based foods are sneaking lab grown meats in), we’re talking growing real meat that isn’t quite real meat. Producers take animal cells, often muscle stem cells, and feed them a broth of growth factors until they multiply. Sounds fishy, honestly.
The cells can grow, and we are not disputing that. Real meat, though, is far more than a heap of cells. A steak for instance, is an intricately organized tissue: muscle fibers built from precisely aligned proteins, bundled and wrapped in connective tissue, marbled with fat (which when grass fed, is healthy), and nourished by blood vessels. That structure gives meat its texture, its chew, and its flavor… and lab constructs don’t recreate it.
The proteins that form in this artificial environment often resemble those of immature or embryonic muscle, not adult animal muscle. Fat is usually grown separately and mixed in afterward. And without a blood supply, these products can’t grow very thick before the cells in the middle die, so most of what’s reached the market has been ground-style or blended with plant protein. What you get is closer to immature cell mass shaped to look like meat than to the real thing.
Nutrition is a concern too, and something that we are highly invested in for our families and our community. God designed meat as a remarkable package: a complete, highly absorbable protein, heme iron, B12, creatine, and healthy fats. In lab versions, this is depleted, at best. One analysis of a U.S. “cultivated” chicken product found less protein and fewer essential amino acids than real chicken, along with more saturated fat and cholesterol.
Add to that the fact that we have no long-term studies on what happens when people eat this regularly. “What” or better stated, “Who is really in the petri dish?” Because this sounds like one, big experiment. This doesn’t even account for the residues and genetic material copied over countless generations–yuck!
We use a term for what the internet is filling up with lately: AI slop. It’s content that imitates the real thing, is produced cheaply at scale, and EMPTY at its core. Lab-grown meat is the food equivalent of that. It imitates the appearance of nourishment without the substance and design behind it.
Several states, including Florida and Texas, have already moved to ban its sale, and others are debating strict labeling. Our home state of Tennessee passed legislation in 2025 to ensure that these products cannot be sold as “meat” but stopped short of an all-out ban. We call on legislators nationwide to put the necessary safeguards in place. Now is the time to put a hard stop to this.
Our children are growing up surrounded by fake food: sweeteners, fats, and now “imitation” or fake meat. They need real food more than ever. Let’s protect it for the next generation.
