WASHINGTON—On Tuesday, June 21, Center for Food Safety (CFS) will be hosting an hour-long webinar on the safety and sustainability of lab-grown, or cell-cultured, "meats," featuring panelists from CFS, the Environmental Defense Fund, and Consumer Reports.

WHAT: Free Webinar: A Conversation on Cell-Cultured Meat

WHEN: Tuesday, June 21, at 11:00 am PT / 2 pm ET

WHERE: Zoom Webinar

RSVP VIA THIS LINK >>

CFS welcomes members of the press and our media team is available to connect reporters with experts for any follow-up questions following the webinar.

It goes by many names: cultured, cell-based, cultivated, or lab-grown meat. All are meat alternatives made in lab vats via animal cells and a cultured medium, like fetal bovine serum or a secret proprietary mix. There are currently more than 70 companies planning to bring cell-cultured "meat" to market that mimics the form of chicken, beef, pork, seafood, and even pet food! These companies are promoting this new technique as a way to cultivate a meat alternative that is supposedly "cleaner" and safer than traditional meat.

The webinar will cover questions like:

• How will cell-cultured "meat" be cultivated at a large scale?
• Is cell-cultured meat really made through an environmentally friendly production model?
• How will these novel products be properly regulated?
• How will claims of "intellectual property" hinder production transparency?
• Who is investing in lab-grown meat and what are their motives?

_______________________________________________

SPEAKER BIOS:

Dr. Michael Hansen, Senior Staff Scientist, Consumer's Union

As Consumer Reports' Senior Staff Scientist, Mike Hansen, Ph.D., has been sharing his scientific expertise for more than 20 years. He develops policy positions, testifies before government agencies, speaks widely at conferences in the U.S. and abroad, and talks frequently to media on critical food safety and environmental health concerns, including mad cow disease, genetic engineering, pesticide use, and antibiotics in animal feed.

Tom Neltner, Chemical Policy Director, Environmental Defense Fund

As EDF's Chemicals Policy Director, Tom Neltner leads efforts to remove or minimize hazardous chemicals from products and the marketplace through cross-cutting policy initiatives. His primary focus is on food additive safety, where he promotes corporate partnerships and advances federal regulatory efforts to improve public health and the environment, and on lead where he works to advance legislative, regulatory and collaborative efforts to reduce lead exposure.

Julia Ranney, Research and Policy Associate, Center for Food Safety

As CFS's Research and Policy Associate, Julia has been researching who has been funding the lab-grown meat industry and what their motives might be. While getting her B.A. in Politics from Oberlin College, she studied food security and sustainability abroad in four different countries and eventually wrote her thesis about the Green Revolution in Africa.

The webinar will be moderated by CFS's Regional Development Director Ashley Lukens, Ph.D.