For many, the notion of growing meat in a lab is a little uncomfortable. Not only does it prompt a number of difficult moral and philosophical questions about how we define what a ‘living creature’ is, but it could also represent another large step away from a ‘natural’ lifestyle.

That being said, lab-grown meat - or cultured meat, as proponents often refer to it - could change the world in a number of positive ways.

Widespread adoption as a replacement for livestock could not only help to combat world hunger by increasing food security but could also go a long way toward mitigating the effects of climate change.

Then, of course, there’s the animal welfare perspective. Put simply, meat without animals means less animal suffering, and, in the long run, has the potential to end livestock farming for good.

So, with all that in mind, should vegans be quick to adopt cultured meat?

Is Cultured Meat Vegan?

Well, it’s complicated.

On the one hand, in a scientific sense, cultured meat does contain ‘animal’ cells which some people would say means they can’t be vegan.

Alternatively, those animal cells don’t come from any animal.

Ultimately, this debate is about as gray an area as they come because it all depends on your definition of the word vegan.

The fact of the matter is that when the word first came into common usage, the idea that you could have animal products without animals would have seemed like a pretty far-fetched notion. There was no need to draw a distinction between an animal and ‘animal’ cells.

All this to say that whether or not you consider cultured meat to be vegan is a personal choice.

If you’re uncomfortable with the implications of lab-grown meat, or you’re vegan diet is, at least in part, for health reasons, then it’s totally understandable that you wouldn’t consider it to be vegan.

On the other hand, if your veganism is entirely based in the moral belief that it’s wrong to kill animals, then don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you believe to be right.