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Dr. John Loike, a biology professor at Touro College, explores these questions and other ethical issues surrounding synthetic animal food in a research review just published in Food & Nutrition Journal. 

Once the stuff of science fiction, “animal-free” dairy and meat products are poised to hit supermarket shelves. The cost to produce a cloned hamburger has dropped dramatically, from $325,000 in 2013 to about $11 today. 

“We’re really engaged in a biotech revolution,” said Dr. Loike, a biology professor. “We have the capacity to alter human genes, animals, plants, the whole spectrum.” Animal-free meat and dairy production requires far less water, land and energy than traditional livestock farming, he adds, and is far less environmentally damaging. 

Products under development described in the article include milk made from proteins produced by genetically modified yeast, cultured meatballs and even chicken tenders and duck a-l’orange. 

Vegetarians who shun meat due to animal cruelty concerns could eat cloned meat without guilt, according to Dr. Loike. But he says it’s not clear whether vegans would give up tofu dogs and other vegetable-based “meats” for synthetic animal products. 

Debate about the status of these foods continues among Islamic and Jewish legal scholars. As long as cloned meat comes from cells taken from animals slaughtered according to religious law, not living animals, it could be considered Kosher or halal, according to Dr. Loike, although this has not been confirmed by rabbinic authorities yet.

Yeast-derived milk is likely to be classified as a non-dairy product under Jewish law, similar to soy milk and other milk replacements, which can be consumed with meat and poultry, he adds. This raises the possibility that foods once off-limits because they combine dairy and meat could be permissible if the “dairy” was grown in a lab. “A Kosher cheeseburger,” Dr. Loike said. “That would be really cool.”

The Touro College and University System

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,200 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has 30 campuses and locations in New York, California, Nevada, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College; Touro University California and Touro University Nevada; Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division; as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Ill. are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: www.touro.edu/news