Promote Cruelty-Free Meat Alternatives

Target: Thomas J. Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture

Goal: Demand that cultured meats be labeled in the same way as meat harvested directly from slain livestock.

Several companies are in the process of developing lab cultured meat. Though production may vary slightly across companies, the general process requires harvesting cells from livestock animals and culturing them in test tubes or some other vestibule to develop into strands of edible muscle tissue. The resulting product would be functionally the same as meat—the only difference: no animals will be killed or even harmed in its making. Though still in its earlier phases, substantial progress is being made and there are estimates that it will be available on mass markets as early as 2023.

The movement towards cultured meat has been met with some opposition. Recently, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association in Washington, D.C. petitioned the USDA asking them to limit the use of terms like “beef” and “meat.” Instead of labeling new lab-grown meats with these same terms, farmers from this association—and likely others—want them reserved for products that come from animals which have been born, raised, and harvested in the traditional manner. That traditional manner involves overcrowding animals in feces-infested barns, denying sick and injured animals access to veterinary care, transporting them tens of thousands of miles with no food or water, kicking them, shoving them, prodding them, improperly stunning them, and slitting their throats.

Sign this petition to demand the USDA doesn’t comply with this request and that it label cultured meats with the same terms once they are on the market.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

Animals abused on farms may finally be getting a much needed reprieve. While producing meat without killing an animal had once seemed like a too-good-to-be-true notion, due to advancing technologies and efforts of dedicated scientists, this meat is not only a possibility, but is estimated to be available at local supermarkets and restaurants as early as 2023.

Cultured-meat is functionally equivalent to meat, the only real difference being that no animals were harmed for its production. As a result, farmers have become increasingly threatened by the implications for their own crafts. Recently, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association in Washington, D.C. petitioned the USDA asking them to limit the use of terms like “beef” and “meat” to products that come from animals which have been born, raised, and harvested in the traditional manner. In doing so, however, we would be doing a great disservice to the billions of animals enduring needless suffering in the face of viable, exact alternatives and our planet which is extremely affected by agricultural practices.

We are asking you, Mr. Vilsack, to label lab-grown meat just as you would the meat harvested directly from killed animals, once it is approved. Help us make the necessary steps in transitioning towards a healthier, more compassionate world.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Nom d’util