Red Meat for the Right Wing

Why have Lab-grown meat and insect protein become such an obsession for right-wing conspiracy theorists and politicians? Nick Harding investigates

Photo:AnnaStills/Alamy

The next front in the British culture wars may have just opened without anyone noticing. You’ll find it in the pet food aisle.

In July, start-up company Meatly became the first European company authorised to sell cultivated meat following UK regulatory clearance for its lab-produced pet food. The company took sample cells from a chicken egg once and now uses them to ‘grow’ meat cells in industrial vats. The cells are formed into edible meat products.

Thanks to the process, British dogs and cats can now enjoy guilt-free chicken without any chickens having been harmed in the process. Good news for livestock and ethical pet owners, not so welcome by the alt-right, right-wing European politicians, MAGA Republicans and an assortment of conspiracy-minded commentators for whom protein and where it comes from has become an ideological hot potato.

The battle cry from this crazed coalition? Wake up sheeples and smell the lamb chops. Their beef isn’t with taste or health and safety. They believe efforts to push novel forms of animal protein on the masses is part of a global conspiracy to enslave humanity.