DEAR READERS, the idea of growing animal cells to produce nutritious food – as an alternative to slaughtering animals for consumption – is becoming ever closer to reality.
In 2019, BioCraft Pet Nutrition (then known as Because Animals) launched a cat treat with a protein grown from mouse cells. In May of this year, BioCraft announced that its cultured mouse protein had reached price parity with animal meat protein in premium pet food. Between these two announcements, the company also launched a cultured chicken protein slurry for pet food after deciding to pivot its business strategy to become a supplier to the industry.
Since 2019, more companies have entered the field of cultured proteins for pet food. Meatly, a UK-based supplier, has received regulatory approval to sell its cultured protein; Friends and Family Pet Food and Umami Bioworks market nutritional supplements containing cultured fish cells; Further Foods announced that it is expected to complete the feeding trials required for regulatory approval of dog food containing cultured chicken; Omni, a UK vegan pet food company, has launched a cat food containing cultured chicken.
Savor, backed by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, is experimenting with developing dairy-free alternatives to ice cream, cheese and milk using a thermochemical process that allows fat molecules to build up. Now the company has announced a new animal-free butter alternative.
DEAR DR. FOX: I have read your column for years. Now, after your column on monkey abuse, I am afraid to read it. I had never heard of it before and I know I will remember this article for the rest of my life.
I know there is evil everywhere, but I never thought I would be so disgusted by an animal column in my daily newspaper. I don’t know how to fight this manifestation of pure evil, but I will pray for our world.
Please share positive, uplifting stories about progress in animal welfare. There is enough evil on the evening news already. – SW, West Palm Beach, Florida
DEAR SW: I’m sorry that my reporting on animal cruelty has upset you so much, and I completely understand. I’ve been dealing with what I call the “great divide” between humans and other animals (and nature in general) since early childhood, when I witnessed my peers cruelly torturing frogs and drowning kittens. It was from those early years, when I lived with parents who rescued animals and exposed me to the wild, that I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian.
I have spent most of my professional life working in animal welfare – advocating for animal rights and facing a lot of resistance from various industries and from individuals such as hunters and trappers. Now I have come full circle by bringing the environment into the concept of One Health.
Many people are unaware of or in denial about animal abuse. When I report cases of animal cruelty, I want to hold up a mirror to people and awaken their conscience so that the informed can act. If you are willing, there are many animal and conservation organizations you can support, starting with your local animal shelter and wildlife rehabilitation center.
We are now at a critical point in our evolution, faced with climate change and the accelerating rate of species extinction worldwide. There are thousands of people around the world who care about this and who dedicate their lives to showing respect and compassion to all living things, big and small. A broken heart is an open heart – a wound we suffer when we become aware of the plight of others, and which can move us to compassionate action.
The best prevention of further inhumanity is not more laws, but more education. All schools should offer courses in humane and environmental education such as those offered by the Institute for Humane Education. For more information, visit: humaneeducation.org/lesson-plans-curricula.
(Send all emails to [email protected] or to Dr. Michael Fox, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of emails received does not permit personal responses, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)
