"Add Plant-Based and Cultured Pork Belly Here"... Will Consumers Respond to 'Ethical Meat Consumption'?

Alternative Meat Market Actively Growing... Result of Increased Awareness of Environment and Animal Rights
4 out of 10 MZ Generation Have Tried Alternative Meat
"Putting the Value of Respecting Animal Rights into Practice through Consumption"
However, Alternative Meat Is a 'Blind Spot' under Food Law... MFDS Plans to Establish Guidelines

Plant-based meat alternatives sold at large supermarkets. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Recently, domestic food companies have been entering the alternative meat market. Initially, alternative meat was perceived solely as food for vegetarians, but as consumers increasingly prioritize climate crisis, environment, and animal rights, the related market is also expanding.

Alternative meat, known as 'Clean meat,' is gaining significant attention as the 'future food' that will replace the existing meat-eating culture, and it is generally divided into plant-based alternative meat and cultured meat.

Plant-based alternative meat is made from plant ingredients such as mushrooms to create a taste and appearance similar to meat, with the familiar soy meat belonging to this category. Cultured meat is produced by extracting cells from living cows, pigs, or chickens and cultivating them in a laboratory to match the size of actual meat. There are also many foods with similar taste and texture not only to meat but also to seafood, eggs, and milk.

Companies are actively entering the alternative meat market. Cheongjeongwon and Daesang (Jongga Jip) signed a strategic partnership agreement in June last year with Excel Therapeutics, a domestic startup that developed the world's first serum-free medium for stem cells. In August of the same year, they also signed a related contract with Space F, a domestic company with technology to isolate and culture muscle stem cells. CJ CheilJedang signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February with K-Cel Bioscience, a cell culture medium production company. K-Cel Bioscience is scheduled to complete a cell culture medium production plant in Gijang, Busan, in the second half of this year. Additionally, Pulmuone has started research and development not only on alternative meat bulgogi and boneless chicken but also on cultured fish meat.

The related industry expects the cultured meat market to grow even faster. The global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney forecasts that by 2040, cultured meat will occupy 35% of the existing global meat market. According to this, the cultured meat market size is expected to reach $120 billion by 2025 and $180 billion by 2040.

However, food-related legislation applicable to the cultured meat market is necessary. Cultured meat does not fall under meat according to the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, raising concerns that it could fall into a blind spot in management if a food safety accident occurs. Singapore is the first case where the government allowed the sale of cultured meat, granting market approval in November 2020 for cultured chicken products from the U.S. startup Eat Just.

In this regard, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety selected 'Advancement of the National Responsibility System for Food Safety' as one of the core tasks in its '2022 Work Report' and announced plans to establish safety evaluation and manufacturing/processing guidelines for cultured meat. In addition, it will promote the establishment of a management system including the definition, naming, and types of alternative protein foods.

Meanwhile, consumer responses to alternative meat are positive. A survey showed that 7 out of 10 MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) respondents (67.6%) believe that dining culture should change to alternative meat for environmental reasons. This online survey on alternative meat awareness was conducted by Shinsegae Food in January through Embrain, targeting 1,000 men and women in their 20s and 30s nationwide. The most common reasons for believing that food culture should change to alternative meat were 'considering the environment' (71.4%) and 'consumption of alternative meat helps eradicate animal welfare issues such as factory farming' (53.2%). Among them, 4 out of 10 respondents (42.6%) said they had experienced alternative meat.

Professor Lee Eun-hee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies analyzed the MZ generation’s preference for alternative meat, stating, "Especially, the MZ generation is highly interested in desirable fairness, justice, and ideal values. They hold the belief that animals are precious lives and should be respected like humans, and they practice this belief through their consumption."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.