Agrotechnology

Potential consumer acceptance of meat produced from cultured cells in China and France

16^th International Conference on Agriculture & Horticulture

August 16-17, 2021 WEBINAR

HOCQUETTE Jean-Francois

French National Institute for Agricultural Research, France

Keynote: Agrotechnology

Abstract:

By 2050, meat demand is likely to increase by approximately 50-75% due to the increasing human population. In addition, consumers are more and more concerned by issues related to food traceability and safety, livestock production systems, animal welfare or climate change. In response, different options have been proposed to address these demands. One of them is the production of meat from cultured cells, which is based on a huge production of muscle fibers by proliferation of muscle cells initially sampled from a limited number of live animals. Proponents of this technology have been successful in engaging the interest of scientists and public media thanks to an effective communication strategy. A survey was thus carried out to investigate opinions of Chinese and French consumers about cultured meat. The answers of more than 4,600 respondents in each country were analyzed. About 47% and 79% were not willing to eat cultured meat regularly in China and France respectively. A majority of respondents were willing to pay less for it compared to conventional meat (68% in France and 86% in China). Emotional resistance such as the perception of “absurdity and/or disgust” (for 15% of Chinese respondents and for 59% of French respondents) would lead to emotional resistance and subsequently result in no willingness to eat cultured meat regularly. A main concern is unnaturalness in both countries with specific concerns regarding food safety in China and negative consequences on traditional farming in France. Respondents would not only expect cultured meat to be safe, tasty and with a low environmental impact in both countries, but also with a low price and a high nutritional quality, mainly in China. To conclude, consumer acceptance of cultured meat is on average low and will depend on the combination of many factors mainly related to price, safety, sensory traits and also environmental and nutritional issues depending on the country.

Biography :

Jean-Francois Hocquette is a Scientist at the INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research), France. His research interest mainly concerns with muscle biology as relevant to muscle growth and beef eating quality. His scientific activity resulted in 250 papers, 2 patents, over $7M in grants, Mentor to 27 scholars, Adjunct ship (800 students) and 60 lectures worldwide. He was the Head of the Herbivore Research Unit and currently works for the High Council for Evaluation of Research & Higher Education. Besides, he is also involved in the activities of the European Association for Animal Production and of the French Meat Academy. He was an Associate Editor of BMC Genomics, edited two EAAP books and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the French Meat R&D Journal.