Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Chicken farming undergoes a radical shift: the rise of cell-cultivated meat

R. Jason Newsom, MD, MPH
Conditions
January 16, 2024
Share
Tweet
Share

Following in his father’s footsteps, my son is a third-year medical student and by the time he completes his training, cell-cultivated chicken meat may be replacing meat from slaughtered birds. My home state of Alabama is one of the top chicken-producing states, but in the future, poultry production may take place in stainless steel tanks, rather than chicken coops.

Federal regulators recently green-lighted the sale of cell-cultivated chicken meat, and people can sample it at a restaurant in San Francisco, Barr Crenn, and one in Washington DC owned by chef Jose Andres.

It’s not a health food, but if chicken meat is grown in a sterile environment with cells from living birds, there’s a clear food safety advantage. Foodborne illness from poultry threatens human health as slaughtered raw chicken can be contaminated with dangerous pathogens, including Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium perfringens.

And, to be fair, cell-cultivated meat generates less water pollution than large-scale livestock operations. As a longtime Gulf Coast resident, I like to imagine a future where there’s no waste from massive chicken farms flowing to the Gulf of Mexico and creating dead zones.

News traveled fast when, at a recent meeting, delegates of the American Medical Association passed a resolution stating that large-scale livestock operations, including chicken farms, “may be a public health hazard” and calling for the Environmental Protection Agency and appropriate parties to tighten restrictions on pollution from these operations.

Cell-cultivated meat offers many advantages, but as a physician focused on preventive medicine and public health, I recommend getting your protein from plant sources like lentils and black-eyed peas. A whole foods plant-based diet can help people improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure, and maintain a healthy weight among other benefits.

Fruits, veggies, and beans are high in fiber, and according to a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine, increasing your intake of fiber can boost brain function. Veggies keep you sharp as you age.

If a patient asks me to recommend a meat alternative that offers a rich, meaty taste and lots of protein, I might recommend putting some portobello mushrooms on the grill. A recently published scientific review notes that mushrooms provide high-quality protein at an affordable price. Interestingly, former chicken houses can be converted to facilities for growing mushrooms, hydroponic lettuce, and other crops, according to Forbes. Craig Watts in North Carolina raised chickens for Perdue for many years, but now he’s growing mushrooms.

Meanwhile, plant scientists are tinkering with our most familiar fruits and melons and developing new varieties that can better adapt to a changing climate. The Cosmic Crisp is a new apple variety that is heat tolerant. The avocado is one of nature’s most perfect foods, and scientists have developed a new variety</a. that provides more food with less land and water.

All trees, including commercially grown apple and avocado trees, do more than provide food — they provide oxygen for us to breathe while storing carbon dioxide in their fibers. Apples, peaches, and other fruits are not only sweet but eating fruit daily decreases your risk for Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The world of food production is changing in many ways, with scientists growing meat in bioreactors, and creating new varieties of apples, and other crops that can thrive in a changing climate. During my long career in preventive medicine and public health, I’ve recommended a plant-based diet to help people achieve wellness, and my son will carry this forward into his own career in medicine. Many changes are afoot, but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

R. Jason Newsom is an occupational health physician.

Prev

Tax tips for employed doctors: the allure and hazards of safe harbors

January 16, 2024 Kevin 0
…
Next

Meditation: a prescription for physician well-being [PODCAST]

January 16, 2024 Kevin 0
…

ADVERTISEMENT

Tagged as: Nutrition

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Tax tips for employed doctors: the allure and hazards of safe harbors
Next Post >
Meditation: a prescription for physician well-being [PODCAST]

ADVERTISEMENT

More by R. Jason Newsom, MD, MPH

  • How healthy eating can protect us from extreme weather

    R. Jason Newsom, MD, MPH

More in Conditions

  • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

    Kara Wada, MD
  • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

    Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH
  • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

    Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD
  • How one unforgettable ER patient taught a nurse about resilience

    Kristen Cline, BSN, RN
  • Why regular exercise is the best prescription for lifelong health

    George F. Smith, MD
  • When the weight won’t budge: the hidden physiology of grief, stress, and set point

    Sarah White, APRN
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Chicken farming undergoes a radical shift: the rise of cell-cultivated meat
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...