I gave my dog chicken grown in a lab and didn’t expect this to happen

As he sinks his teeth into a meaty treat, French bulldog Ralph Lauren is unaware that he is one of the first animals in the world to “taste the future of pet food”. The newly hired Express critic is sampling a landmark product brought to market by Meatly, the only company in Europe approved to sell lab-grown meat.

Its cultivated chicken is grown from a small sample of cells taken from a hen’s egg in 2022, in a process that chief executive and committed vegan Owen Ensor believes is the key to building a more sustainable protein landscape.

The launch is the latest exciting step on the path towards a possible future where lab-grown meat becomes a common sight on supermarket shelves. “It is a really momentous occasion for the food industry and UK consumers will become the first to taste the future of pet food,” Ensor says.

“There will always be traditional meat, plant-based options and lentils and beans, but I think cultivated meat has a role to play in that equation of how we feed ourselves and our pets.”

Global meat consumption has more than quadrupled since the 1960s, fuelled by a growing population, rising income in some developing countries and shifting dietary patterns.

Pets are estimated to eat 22% of the meat consumed in the UK. The trend has contributed heavily to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, due to the large amount of land needed for livestock grazing and feed production.

London-based Meatly’s process can produce the same nutrients and taste using “less land, less water and with fewer CO2 emissions”, according to Ensor.

The mixture is created by placing cells extracted from the hen’s egg into “a large, warm vessel and adding the nutrients they need to grow into meat. This process is very similar to making beer or yoghurt.

“After about a week, we have meat that we sell to pet food manufacturers. We’re starting with chicken – we can do other species in the future”.

The precise method means cultivated meat is also free of the antibiotics, steroids and hormones often used in traditional farming.

The treats – called Chick Bites – are made with Meatly’s chicken by its partner, plant-based dog food brand The Pack. They will launch tomorrow, with a limited release in Pets at Home’s Brentford store.

Meatly hopes its offering will be popular with animal lovers who are looking for a cruelty-free option that allows their pets to still enjoy the taste of meat.

The company became the first in Europe to receive the green light to sell cultivated meat last July, when UK regulators cleared it for pet food.

And in October, the Food Standards Agency was awarded £1.6million for a two-year programme to develop a regulatory framework to ensure cultivated meat is safe for human consumption. Once it is complete, Ensor hopes Meatly could be approved to sell products for people “quite quickly”.

“From a technical perspective, our meat is safe for humans. We wouldn’t feed it to pets if it wasn’t,” he adds.

Some countries are moving faster. Singapore, and the US have already approved lab-grown meat products for human consumption.

But Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro says the UK is finally catching up, and moving ahead of Europe when it comes to regulation, thanks to post- freedoms.

The expert in synthetic biology is director of Imperial College London’s Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, which was launched last year and is backed by £24million from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ philanthropic fund to fight climate change.

He adds: “If you asked me probably one year ago, my answer would be completely different, but last year we saw a lot of investment from the Government and the Bezos Earth Fund.

“It’s really a thriving science space in the UK and I think there is recognition from the Government of the need for investment to tackle a problem affecting society and the planet.”

Some studies have cast doubt on whether cultivated meat will be as green when production is scaled up, but Dr Ledesma-Amaro says most research shows it typically creates 60-92% less greenhouse gas emissions and uses 90% less land than traditional farming. It is not the only solution to the world’s food production problems, he adds, but many criticisms and concerns about the technology are based on misunderstandings.

“I don’t think the goal of cultivated meat is to replace actual meat, it just gives another option in the supermarket. We have an ageing and growing population – more mouths to feed – so we need more options out there that are both sustainable and healthy.”

Ensor insists his sector does not pose a threat to traditional livestock farming. “Our farmers are an incredibly important part of our food system, part of our society, and are the best possible custodians of the land.

“Most farmers I speak to want to be farming in a way that is sustainable and compassionate, and they care more than anyone about nature and the animals they’re rearing.

“But because of the way our food system is set up, often we’re encouraging them to farm in a more intensive way.

“By complementing traditional meat with alternative proteins and cultivated meat, we can allow our farmers to farm in the way that they want… while having all of the protein we need and want.”

There are already signs that the meat industry is less hostile to this new field than you might expect. Responding to the FSA’s announcement, the British Meat Processors Association said it was “taking a keen interest in the new technology and innovation going into novel cell-cultivated products”.

Chief executive Nick Allen said they could provide “a valuable source of protein for people in countries where the climate or conditions aren’t suited to rearing animals and can’t provide sufficient protein for the population”.

One hurdle still to be overcome is the cost. Meatly’s limited run of Chick Bites will see around 750 pouches weighing 50g sold at Pets at Home’s Brentford store for £3.49 each

The price is in line with other premium pet products, according to Ensor, but the cost of producing cultivated chicken is currently too high.

Ensor explains: “What we need to do at Meatly now is scale up our production and that will bring the costs down further.

“Once we scale up, it will be equivalent to traditional meat prices.”

Meatly plans to raise more cash this year in order to do so. “In three to five years, we’d want this to be, initially, continually present in a few places and then expanding to be in as many places as we can.”

For now, the first bags of Chick Bites will provide a taste of the future for the pets of open-minded owners. A recent survey of more than 700 dog owners led by the University of Winchester found around half would feed their pets cultivated meat, while a third would eat it themselves.

Anja Madsen, chief operating officer at Pets at Home, one of Meatly’s largest investors, says helping customers understandthat the concept of cultivated meat is “not as scary as you might think” will be key.

“It’s about demystifying something that can sound very scientific to a process, like making yogurt or beer, that people are more familiar with.

“What we’re seeing from our customers is that many are looking for choices that are good for the planet, but they’re not sure how to do it.”

The launch marks an emotional milestone for Ensor, 36, who has dedicated his career to finding more sustainable food sources. He previously lived in Kenya for three years running an insect protein facility (although he says there are now growing ethical questions about insect farming).

It was there that he realised the world was facing “a protein crisis”. Although vegan for a decade, he is not on a mission to convert the masses and simply wants others to have more choice, whatever their dietary preferences. “It works for me but I fully recognise it doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, so I want people to have a choice of different sources of meat and protein.”

Ensor says he would happily eat cultivated meat so long as the production process was sustainable and did not involve repeated re-sampling from the source animal or use of other animal products. In the coming years, he hopes people will be persuaded that it is an “easy choice” for their pets and, eventually, their own dinner tables.

“We don’t need to raise and kill any animals, it’s healthy, we’re not using any antibiotics, steroids, hormones, it’s a very controlled process. I understand that cultivated meat is very new and it takes time for people to get used to and understand it. I’m excited to start having that conversation with consumers.”

So what’s the verdict? Four-year-old Ralph, described by his owner Pandora Forsyth as “a total foodie”, was more than happy to take a giant leap for his four-legged friends and sample Meatly’s delights.

Pandora says: “Not one to pass up on a free lunch, Ralph knocked back the first treat without so much as a sniff – but then came the real challenge, would he come back for more?

“I took a deep breath as he sat for his second helping. Would this be enticing enough to tempt Ralph away from a muddy ravine? As any dog owner knows, you’re only as powerful as your treat arsenal…

“Success! I ask Ralph for a paw in return for the treat and he willingly obliges – a sign the Meatly offering has hit the spot for carnivore Ralph. The reward was lapped up – I have made my dog happy and done my bit to save the planet. It’s a pedigree game-changer for us.”