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January 2022 - Food

Only 30% of the UK population think lab-grown meat is safe to eat: A nationwide survey investigating consumer perceptions of alternative protein sources has discovered that just three in 10 (30%) UK respondents perceive that lab-grown meat is safe to eat.

The survey, conducted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), polled 1,930 adults aged 16-75 living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 9th to 11th December 2021.

The survey discovered that half the respondents polled were familiar with what lab-grown meat is, but only a third (34%) were willing to try it.

When it comes to demographics, younger consumers, aged 25-35 years, were found to be more willing to try lab-grown meat (46%), as opposed to those aged 55-75 years (27%). Likewise, men (43%) were more likely to try it than women (26%).

When asked about the reasons for trying lab-grown meat, 40% of respondents expressed that environmental or sustainability reasons would be a driver, while animal welfare was also one of the most common reasons (38%).  

Conversely, nearly half (49%) of the respondents who were unwilling to try lab-grown meat said that it was ‘off-putting’, while 37% said they did not have a need to eat it, and a third (33%) said they prefer traditional meat.

However, over half (51%) of the respondents who are unwilling to try lab-grown meat expressed that their attitude could be changed if they were convinced the meat is safe to eat (27%), and 23% stated that having proper regulations could change their mind

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