If you believe this analysis to be representative of reality, then it follows that cultured meat will never be able to reach parity with current chicken and pork meat prices. Together, these two make over 2⁄3 of global meat production.
Yeah, and it’s an even larger ratio from a moral perspective, at least if we are focused primarily on farmed animal welfare.
Of course, 1) just replacing beef is more than enough for a solid business case, 2) you can also try replacing really high-end luxury foods (Kobe beef, caviar, foie gras), where the lower bounds here don’t apply, and 3) as you allude to, chicken and pork meat prices may increase.
(1) and (2) are more relevant for justifying cultured meat use from a business perspective than from an altruistic perspective.
3) is something I’ve seen many cultured meat proponents say, but of course we can’t rely on it (for starters, chicken and pork meat prices might also decrease). That said, a moderate possibility that chicken and pork meat prices might increase ought to be sufficient to justify altruistic cultured meat investment, assuming that we can get prices close to parity with conventional meat prices. So 3) is unlikely to be a crux, within reasonable ranges.
Yeah, and it’s an even larger ratio from a moral perspective, at least if we are focused primarily on farmed animal welfare.
Of course, 1) just replacing beef is more than enough for a solid business case, 2) you can also try replacing really high-end luxury foods (Kobe beef, caviar, foie gras), where the lower bounds here don’t apply, and 3) as you allude to, chicken and pork meat prices may increase.
(1) and (2) are more relevant for justifying cultured meat use from a business perspective than from an altruistic perspective.
3) is something I’ve seen many cultured meat proponents say, but of course we can’t rely on it (for starters, chicken and pork meat prices might also decrease). That said, a moderate possibility that chicken and pork meat prices might increase ought to be sufficient to justify altruistic cultured meat investment, assuming that we can get prices close to parity with conventional meat prices. So 3) is unlikely to be a crux, within reasonable ranges.