Health
U.S. Approves the Sale of Lab-Grown Chicken
The Agriculture Department approved the production and sale of laboratory-grown meat for the first time on Wednesday, clearing the way for two California companies to sell chicken produced from animal cells.
It will likely be years before shoppers can buy lab-produced meat in grocery stores. But the government’s decision will eventually allow the sale of lab-produced meat across state lines after passing federal inspections.
The decision is a milestone for companies making cell-grown meat, along with consumers looking for alternatives to chickens bred in a factory farm and slaughtered.
Supporters of alternative proteins along with the companies that sought federal approval — Upside Foods and Good Meat — celebrated the news as pivotal for the meat industry and the broader food system at a moment of growing concern about the environmental impact of meat production and its treatment of animals.
“This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table,” Dr. Uma Valeti, the chief executive and founder of Upside Foods, said in a statement. “It’s a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future — one that preserves choice and life.”
The decision will make the United States the second country in the world, after Singapore, to authorize the production and sale of lab-grown meat. Bruce Friedrich, the president of the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit focused on cell- and plant-based meat, said U.S. approval was a critical step for the industry, adding that “the world does look to the United States’ food safety approval system, and now lots of governments will follow.”
Supporters of cultivated meat say the product has better outcomes for the environment, food safety and animal welfare. But skeptics are wary of scientific and safety risks and say the purported environmental benefits are unproven. Difficulties remain over how to increase the product for mass consumption.
About 100 companies worldwide, including dozens in the United States, focus on the production of cultivated meat, according to Mr. Friedrich. The industry was valued at about $247 million in 2022, according to the market research firm Grand View Research, and could grow to $25 billion by 2030, the consulting firm McKinsey & Company projected.
Lab-grown meat begins with cells taken from an animal. Those cells are then fed water and salt and nutrients like amino acids, vitamins and minerals. The cells then multiply in large tanks called cultivators or bioreactors. When harvested, the product is essentially minced meat, which is then formed into patties, sausage or fillets. The meat contains no bones, feathers, beaks or hooves and does not need to be slaughtered.
Upside Foods and Good Meat declined to elaborate on their current production capacity, but Dr. Valeti said last year that the company will eventually grow to “tens of millions of pounds of product.”
That’s chicken feed compared with the more than 300 million tons of meat consumed around the world — a number that is only expected to grow.
Both companies will begin selling chicken to American consumers through partner restaurants: Upside Foods at Bar Crenn in San Francisco, and Good Meat at an undisclosed location operated by the chef José Andrés in Washington. The model allows both consumer education and feedback, spokesmen for the companies said.
After the initial trial run, both companies also anticipate scaling up production and expanding to other types of meat. (Beef, with its higher fat content and more complex flavor, is harder to replicate.)
Still, questions linger over the regulatory framework around cultivated meat and consumer attitudes toward the products.
Many cattlemen and agriculture groups have cried foul over calling the lab-grown variety “meat” and have been lobbying legislators to safeguard the word. The Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Agriculture Department agency tasked with inspecting conditions at processing facilities, is still drafting regulations on how food products derived from animal cells should be labeled. For now, the two California companies will call their products “cell cultivated chicken,” a label that the agency approved last week.
Semantic and consumer opinion battles aside, Mr. Friedrich warned that the cultivated meat products, when they eventually hit grocery shelves, will be expensive compared with conventional sausages and patties — similar to how renewable energy was initially costlier than oil and gas.
Nonetheless, he is confident that “cultivated meat will sell itself.”
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Most of the 38 million people living with diabetes in the U.S. use daily injections or insulin pumps to keep glucose at safe levels — but new research suggests that a third option could be just as effective.
In a study led by Dr. Irl B. Hirsch, M.D., medical director of the Diabetes Care Center of the University of Washington Medical Center, an inhaled form of insulin — similar to an asthma inhaler — worked just as well as injections or pumps to control type 1 diabetes.
The research was presented last week at the American Diabetes Association (ADA)’s 84th Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida.
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The clinical trial tested a product called Afrezza, an inhaled insulin made by MannKind Corporation in California.
Afrezza, the only inhaled insulin on the market, has been available since getting FDA approval in June 2014.
An inhaled form of insulin worked just as well as injections or pumps to control type 1 diabetes in a recent study. (iStock/MannKind)
Benefits of a third option
“In those with type 1 diabetes, insulin is required for survival,” Hirsch told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“With continuous glucose sensing, glucose control has been dramatically improved — but not everyone reaches the target with multiple injections or pumps, and there are many pros and cons with each therapy,” he said.
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With pumps, people must wear the device, which can lead to skin problems.
They also have to purchase extra accessories.
Blood glucose levels can also drop with exercise, Hirsch warned, which can be problematic.
Afrezza, an inhaled insulin pictured here, is made by MannKind Corporation in California. (MannKind)
“Injections overall can be more convenient for some, but they don’t do as well as pump patients,” he said.
With Afrezza, the product is inhaled into the lungs before meals, and the fast-acting insulin minimizes the glucose spike often seen after eating, Hirsch noted.
“Patients with type 1 diabetes should consider this as another option for their mealtime insulin, and talk to their doctor about this choice.”
During the 17-week study, researchers evaluated the results of 141 adults who were assigned to either use the Afrezza inhaler or continue with traditional methods of injection or pump delivery.
At the 17-week mark, all participants switched to the inhaler for another 13 weeks.
Dr. Irl B. Hirsch, M.D., medical director of the Diabetes Care Center of the University of Washington Medical Center, led the new study. (MannKind)
All groups were assessed with continuous glucose monitoring at the start of the study, at 17 weeks and again at 30 weeks.
Among the inhaled insulin group, 30% of participants reached their target glucose levels (less than 7% blood sugar) compared to 17% of the people using injections and pumps.
There was no difference in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) between the groups.
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“In general, there was no difference in our primary endpoint, HbA1c, a reflection of average blood sugar,” Hirsch said.
“But that alone is misleading — many patients did better with their glucose control, while others did worse.”
With Afrezza, the product is inhaled into the lungs before meals, and the fast-acting insulin minimizes the glucose spike often seen after eating, a doctor said. (MannKind)
“The point is, inhaling insulin isn’t for everyone, but some did better than they did on their pumps.”
The people who saw the best results inhaled insulin between meals and at bedtime, Hirsch added.
At the end of the study, more than half of the participants said they would opt to stay on the inhaled insulin therapy.
“The biggest takeaway is that patients with type 1 diabetes should consider this as another option for their mealtime insulin, and talk to their doctor about this choice,” he recommended.
‘Adds value’
The American Diabetes Association acknowledged the promise of the study findings in an email to Fox News Digital.
“We look forward to our Scientific Sessions every year to see data like the INHALE-3 study’s findings, which have the potential to expand diabetes care,” Raveendhara Bannuru, M.D., PhD, the ADA’s vice president of medical affairs and quality improvement outcomes in Boston, Massachusetts, told Fox News Digital via email.
“With continuous glucose sensing, glucose control has been dramatically improved,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“We are hopeful for the continuous development of alternative insulin delivery methods that could offer options for people living with diabetes,” the group also said in the statement.
“The INHALE-3 trial demonstrated that inhaled insulin, combined with insulin degludec, effectively reduces A1c levels without increasing hypoglycemia or weight gain in people with type 1 diabetes. This adds value to the options in insulin therapy.”
Potential risks and limitations
While more people met their glycemic targets with Afrezza, some subjects saw worse readings when switching from usual methods to inhaled insulin — “potentially due to missing doses of inhaled insulin during the day and/or underdosing going into bedtime,” the researchers wrote.
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“We didn’t see any concerns,” Hirsch said when asked about side effects.
“As expected, a few people coughed immediately when dosing their insulin, but no major concerns were seen and everyone continued on their inhaled insulin.”
“Not everyone reaches the target with multiple injections or pumps, and there are many pros and cons with each therapy,” a doctor said. (iStock)
The most common side effects noted in the study were hypoglycemia, cough and throat pain or irritation.
Afrezza has been linked to a risk of acute bronchospasm in patients with chronic lung disease, such as asthma or COPD, according to the manufacturer.
“Inhaling insulin isn’t for everyone, but some did better than they did on their pumps.”
Before starting Afrezza, patients should see a doctor for a physical examination and testing to measure lung function.
Patients who smoke or who recently quit smoking should not take the inhaled medication.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health
Fox News Digital reached out to MannKind requesting additional comment.
The United States surgeon general is declaring gun violence a national public health crisis.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on Tuesday stating that firearm-related violence and its immediate psychological ramifications on victims and bystanders has severely compromised public health.
“Today, for the first time in the history of our office, I am issuing a Surgeon General’s Advisory on firearm violence,” Murthy said in a video announcement. “It outlines the urgent threat firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of our country.”
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U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a special advisory on firearm violence on Tuesday, calling gun-related incidents a public health crisis. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
“As a doctor, I’ve seen the consequences of firearm violence up close and the lives of the patients that cared for over the years,” the surgeon general continued. “These are moms and dads, sons and daughters, all of whom were robbed of their physical and mental health by senseless acts of violence.”
The advisory states that 54% of adults in America have experienced a firearm-related incident. These experiences with firearm violence include individuals who have been threatened with a gun (21%), lost a family member in a gun-related death (19%), witnessed a shooting (17%), and been wounded by a firearm (4%).
The 54% figure also includes adults who have fired a gun in self-defense (4%). The gun-related death statistic includes those who committed suicide via firearm.
The report noted different demographics are affected in different ways by gun violence.
Black individuals suffer the highest rate of gun deaths. American Indians, Alaskan Natives, elderly white people, and military veterans are at the highest risk suicide by firearm.
“Beyond these precious lives that are lost to firearm violence, there are wider ripples of harm to those who are injured, who witnessed the incidents, who live in urban and rural communities where such violence takes place, and who constantly read and hear about firearm violence,” Murthy stated.
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Murthy wrote in the report that the direct casualties of gun violence are compounded by psychological ramifications inflicted on victims and bystanders. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
He added, “The collective trauma and fear that Americans are experiencing is contributing to the mental health challenges that we are facing today. Nearly 6 in 10 U.S. adults say they worry about a loved one being a victim of firearm violence.”
The public advisory on firearm-related violence is the first document of its kind released by the Surgeon General’s Office.
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