--- title: China’s 5-Year Plan is a Blueprint for the Future of Meat description: China's new agriculture plan includes meat grown from stem cells, no slaughter required canonical: https://time.com/6143109/china-future-of-cultivated-meat/ author: Aryn Baker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-01-27T18:50:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:18:36.063Z article:section: Climate og:title: China’s 5-Year Plan is a Blueprint for the Future of Meat og:description: China's new agriculture plan includes meat grown from stem cells, no slaughter required og:url: https://time.com/6143109/china-future-of-cultivated-meat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50e45881a2add6c4/698a21e516d8841213c3a460/cultured-lab-meat-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Cultured beef meat concept for artificial in vitro cell culture meat production with frozen packed raw meat with label og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: China’s 5-Year Plan is a Blueprint for the Future of Meat twitter:description: China's new agriculture plan includes meat grown from stem cells, no slaughter required twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50e45881a2add6c4/698a21e516d8841213c3a460/cultured-lab-meat-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # China’s New 5-Year Plan is a Blueprint for the Future of Meat > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=4437a22b-84ff-4490-8f25-28cb5be36447&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Cow That Could Feed the Planet [Watch (HLS stream): The Cow That Could Feed the Planet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dCY4u9Sk.m3u8) (6:21)  _Published 2021-11-01. Mosa Meats, which launched the first lab-grown burger in 2013, is in a race to make an affordable alternative to beef patties. TIME was given an exclusive look into their labs and manufacturing process._ by [Aryn Baker](https://time.com/author/aryn-baker/) ## Aryn Baker Jan 27, 2022 6:50 PM UTC Mosa Meats, which launched the first lab-grown burger in 2013, is in a race to make an affordable alternative to beef patties. TIME was given an exclusive look into their labs and manufacturing process. by [Aryn Baker](https://time.com/author/aryn-baker/) ## Aryn Baker Jan 27, 2022 6:50 PM UTC China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has set the lab-grown meat industry [abuzz](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6891500015341178880/) with the release of its official[ five-year agricultural plan (pdf in Chinese)](http://www.moa.gov.cn/govpublic/KJJYS/202112/P020220106615353271383.pdf) on Jan. 26\. For the first time, China included cultivated meats and other “future foods” like plant-based eggs as part of its blueprint for food security going forward. Grown from animal stem cells in a bioreactor and nourished on a nutrient broth, cultivated meats are a relatively new technology that promises to upend traditional animal agriculture by replacing slaughterhouses with laboratories. But while alternative meat companies have made immense strides in replicating the[ taste](https://time.com/6140206/cultivated-meat-passes-the-taste-test/) and texture of conventionally raised pork, beef, and chicken, barriers to large scale development and distribution remain.[ China’s embrace of the technology](https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/china-cultivated-meat-agricultural-plan/) could upend that metric by encouraging investment and providing a market. “China is far and away the largest consumer of eggs and meat in the world, so incorporating plant-based eggs and cultivated meat into the country’s five-year plan is a significant indicator of what’s to come,” says Josh Tetrick, the CEO of California-based food-technology company[ Eat Just Inc](https://www.ju.st/)., which is already selling plant-based eggs in China, and[ cell-cultivated chicken](https://goodmeat.co/?utm%5Fsource=google&utm%5Fmedium=sem&utm%5Fcampaign=gdmt&gclid=Cj0KCQiAosmPBhCPARIsAHOen-OaNV4pS-4gdfUPwN4CHHeco37OpKDgUq6%5FM3kjD3F9QFBKaKmRSfgaApf1EALw%5FwcB) in Singapore. “This nationwide strategic initiative could accelerate the country’s regulatory timeline for cultivated meat, drive more research and investment into the alternative protein industry and fuel broader consumer acceptance of these products,” Tetrick says. “In short, this is one of—if not the most—important policy actions in the history of alternative proteins.” **_Read More:_**[ _The Cow that Could Feed the Planet_](https://time.com/6109450/sustainable-lab-grown-mosa-meat/) China, the world’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, is under[ pressure](https://news.trust.org/item/20220126034437-6bkie/) to take stronger actions to address its role in global warming. Animal agriculture could be a good place to start. Livestock raised for food accounts for [up to 14.5% of global emissions](https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/) according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. China’s livestock was responsible for [nearly 29%](https://chinadialogue.net/en/food/how-can-china-cut-emissions-from-its-farms) of the country’s direct and indirect agriculture emissions in 2014, the latest year for which official figures are available. The U.N.’s International Panel on Climate Change is calling for a reduction in [global meat consumption](https://time.com/5648082/un-climate-report-less-meat/) to help reduce climate-warming gasses. Yet [global demand for meat](https://time.com/5847958/coronavirus-meat-consumption/) is set to nearly double by 2050, according to the World Resources Institute, particularly in nations with a growing middle class, like China. Per capita meat consumption has [tripled](https://time.com/5930095/china-plant-based-meat/) since the late 1980s in China, and today the country consumes 28% of the world’s meat, [including half of all pork](https://time.com/5580126/china-swine-fever-pork-industry-spreading/). **_Read More:_**[ _How China Could Change the World by Taking Meat Off the Menu_](https://time.com/5930095/china-plant-based-meat/) By promoting cultivated meat alternatives, China could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from raising livestock (or importing meat), while ensuring that it maintains food security—a vital concern, particularly after the 2019 and 2020 [African swine fever outbreaks](https://time.com/5580126/china-swine-fever-pork-industry-spreading/) that saw domestic pork production plummet in China. “As the world grapples with the twin challenges of skyrocketing protein demand and diminishing natural resources, a rapid shift towards plant-based and cultivated meat is a critical element of how we increase food security, mitigate environmental degradation, and alleviate global poverty,” says Mirte Gosker, the Asia acting managing director for the alternative meat promotion organization Good Food Institute. “By including game-changing food technologies like cultivated meat, \[China’s\] national leaders are saying publicly what others around the world have long hoped: that China intends to go all-in on building the future of food.” That’s not just good for China, it’s also good for the cultivated meat industry. China has yet to grant regulatory approval for the sale of cultivated meat (so far, [Singapore](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55155741) is the only country in the world that has), but that could soon change as pressure mounts to achieve the five-year plan. Market approval would see increased private investment in local cultivated meat start-ups, like[ Joes Future Food](http://www.joesfuturefood.com/), which has[ already raised nearly $11 million](https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/joes-future-food-cell-based-pork-series-a/) to start lab-grown pork production. Meanwhile, the sheer size of China’s potential market could spark additional investment in global brands that are already scaling up. “When China moves, especially on an area as critical to the global economy as food production, the world takes notice and often moves to either compete or partner,” says Tetrick. For the companies developing meat alternatives, both are a good thing. ## Transcript [00:01] In 2013. Where does Chef? [00:04] Richard McGowan, was asked to cook a dish. [00:06] The world had never tasted before a burger ground outside [00:11] of a cow and an elaborate or E. [00:13] It looks like any other province of the stage or any other [00:17] beef ago, but I didn't, but this burger cost $330,000 to make [00:23] scalloped money. I made the money, does baby face, [00:29] me and stop responsibility. [00:31] My biggest concern was the product relatively tremendously. [00:40] In fact, this was clean tasting. [00:45] Simple burger. And that was the, what was the goal of the day? [00:51] Years later more than 70 startups are now competing to bring [00:56] what is known as the cell, cultivated meat from beef stew, [00:59] chicken and even kangaroo to markets around the world. [01:04] Advocate. See these Latin alternative as a way to reduce industrial [01:08] agricultural deals, like the negative impact on the climate [01:11] and Animal. Welfare abuse has most of meet a company developing [01:17] style, cultivated Burgers, invited time to take an exclusive. [01:21] Look at its facilities in the Dutch city of mess play. [01:25] This is our first sylheti where we at the last number of production [01:31] facility. And what we're doing here is creating a culture [01:35] because beef has the biggest impact on climate change. [01:40] And that is really and right. [01:44] We replace me to meet at the same same same experience [01:51] as traditional lines. [01:54] We're essentially doing something that nobody has ever done [01:57] before. [01:59] the technology was in, it was existing but never had anybody [02:04] tried to produce this at scale or [02:07] Or in a cost-effective manner. [02:10] Technology to make. [02:11] This happen is essentially derived from a medical technology [02:15] and uses cell culture and tissue culture to make. [02:19] Now a consumer product instead of a tissue that we want to replace [02:23] in a human body. [02:26] Ironically, perhaps the process Starts Here on a cattle farm. [02:31] All the companies from these cows is a small biopsy of tissue. [02:35] Gently remove the vet applies. [02:39] A topical anesthetic to the couch blank. [02:41] That makes a small incision to remove peppercorn size amount [02:44] of muscle tissue, any stitches up the wound and send the cow [02:48] on its way. [02:49] Each tissue sample, then goes on to the most of Meat Lab for [02:53] cell proliferation. [02:58] Chapter 10 different teams. [03:20] What you're looking at right now is just a sample to make sure [03:22] that it's growing correctly, that it's happy news. [03:32] Basically making the largest federal police multiple. [03:43] A plane Casino. [03:57] Formosa me to impact the market in a meaningful way. [04:00] The company will need to overcome a few hurdles in order to make [04:04] their burgers affordable enough for the everyday person. [04:06] They need to scale up production. [04:08] There is a lot of Technology available to scale up cell production, [04:14] but it's mostly used for very specific cells in the Pharma [04:19] industry cells that are engineered to be comfortable [04:23] in those large bioreactors ourselves are not. [04:27] So we have to kind of adapt the whole system. [04:30] This will happen, but it just takes time. [04:33] Most of meat also must get approval from regulatory bodies [04:37] to start selling his patties. [04:39] So far only to sell base. [04:41] Chicken companies have been approved for sale in Singapore. [04:45] And another in Israel, regulatory approval is more a matter [04:49] of time because I'm convinced that this product is safe and it [04:52] will be approved. [04:53] It's just how much time do the [04:57] Need to get to that point. [04:59] I don't need to convince consumers that meat ground outside [05:03] of an animal is something they actually want on their dinner [05:06] plate. That choice, that could be heavily influenced by what [05:09] these products are called. [05:10] I can see that there is some value in being able to call this [05:14] meet. I also think it's eventually misleading not to call it meat, [05:19] because if it's essentially the same the same tissue, [05:22] then you shouldn't call it something else. [05:25] But I also think it's misleading to just call it meets, [05:28] other people think. [05:29] Oh, yeah, this is coming from the cow. [05:31] Do you need to have a qualifier people understand that it's [05:34] made it a different way. [05:37] The reason why we're doing this is truly to avert a couple [05:41] of disaster scenarios. [05:44] We don't have two choices that we think we have. [05:47] It's not like we can continue on the way we're doing this, [05:51] just not possible. [05:52] So either we accept this or we all become vegetarian in The Culinary [05:58] World. Eager to get started, the privilege of a Shipping [06:03] Place restaurant in UK, 2:30 to bring me in the next two to three [06:08] years, maybe one and a hundred people walking down the street [06:12] cuz I tried a stem cell produces. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6143109/china-future-of-cultivated-meat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6143109/china-future-of-cultivated-meat/"},"headline":"China’s New 5-Year Plan is a Blueprint for the Future of Meat","datePublished":"2022-01-27T18:50:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:18:36.063Z","description":"China's new 5-year plan includes meat grown from stem cells, no slaughter required","url":"https://time.com/6143109/china-future-of-cultivated-meat/","keywords":["Food & Agriculture","climate change","healthscienceclimate","Climate Is Everything"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50e45881a2add6c4/698a21e516d8841213c3a460/cultured-lab-meat-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aryn Baker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aryn-baker/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50e45881a2add6c4/698a21e516d8841213c3a460/cultured-lab-meat-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cultured beef meat concept for artificial in vitro cell culture meat production with frozen packed raw meat with label","caption":"Cultured beef meat concept for artificial in vitro cell culture meat production with frozen packed raw meat with label","creditText":"Getty Images/iStockphoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/food-and-agriculture/","name":"Food & Agriculture"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6143109/china-future-of-cultivated-meat/","name":"China’s New 5-Year Plan is a Blueprint for the Future of Meat"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Cow That Could Feed the Planet","description":"Mosa Meats, which launched the first lab-grown burger in 2013, is in a race to make an affordable alternative to beef patties. 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