Howard Sanders, a poultry farmer at Salem Oaks Farm Inc., poses for a portrait on the farm in Stephens, Georgia, on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (Photo/ Allyson Reynolds)

By: Allyson Reynolds

Poultry farmer Howard Sanders has seen and adapted to new technology throughout his 48 years in the poultry business. But, he says, he will not partake in the new cell-cultured technology that entered the U.S. market in June.

“We don’t have any big industry in Oglethorpe County. Oglethorpe County is a farming county,” he said. “The effect on the job market would be astronomical, you know, if it ever did take effect, and that’s all we ate was cell-cultured meat.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved cultivated meat, or “lab-grown” meat, which allows the production of meat in a laboratory without slaughtering animals. Companies have slowly begun releasing their cultivated chicken into two U.S. restaurants, including Upside Foods in Bar Crenn in San Francisco and Good Meat in China Chilcano by José Andrés in Washington, D.C.

Why It’s Newsworthy: The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved cultivated meat, or “lab-grown” meat, in June. Georgia ranks as the top poultry production state in the U.S., and the state’s farmers and economy could be affected.

Georgia ranks as the top poultry production state in the U.S., according to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The poultry industry employs more than 88,000 people in the state and has an overall economic impact of $28 billion annually.

Some expect grocery stores to begin selling lab-grown meat in a few years. While supporters hope that cultivated chicken will combat climate change, there are concerns about its economic impact.

Sanders said he and other farmers believe consumers should continue to consume traditionally raised chicken rather than cultivated chicken.

Sanders, who serves on the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners, said the success of cultivated meat could lay off so many residents that Oglethorpe County would not have a tax base.

Farmers, he says, pay the majority of the tax base in the county because they are the biggest landowners.

A truck carries chickens through Arnoldsville in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, on Sept. 29, 2023. (Photo/Allyson Reynolds)

What Are the Differences between Traditional Farming and Cellular Agriculture?

Sanders’ great-grandfather started the family poultry farm in the 1800s. When he was 16 years old, Sanders began to work in the poultry business.

“My family had been farming this land since the 1800s — this land right here. And to me, it’s an honor to still be here,” Sanders said. “Farming is a way of life.”

Howard Sanders’ poultry farm, Salem Oaks Farm Inc., is pictured in Stephens, Georgia, on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. A company had picked up the chickens for meat, and Sanders expects to receive a new batch of chickens. (Photo/ Allyson Reynolds)

After the chickens produce fertile eggs, the farmers send the eggs to hatcheries. Less than three hours after the eggs hatch, Sanders receives feed and the broiler chickens, a common breed for meat production. From there, he provides them with housing, ventilation and heat for about six weeks. Another company then takes the chickens, and eventually, the chickens go to a processing plant for meat production.

Chicken production is drastically different for cultivated chickens. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the cultivating process begins with cells, typically taken from the tissue of an animal. The workers then place the cells into large, sealed vessels called cultivators. Experts supply the cells with the necessary nutrients to develop skeletal muscle, fat and connective tissue. Once the product is of the desired type, the cellular material can be harvested.

Throughout the cultivating process, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will oversee and regulate the cell collection, selection and growth, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will oversee the harvest, processing and labeling, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Along with other factors, Sanders says he thinks the cultivated process is wrong and would be harmful to people because of his Christian faith. Other farmers he knows, he says, have similar views.

How Could Cultivated Meat Impact Georgia Farmers?

William Secor, an assistant professor in the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, said broilers, a common breed of chicken, account for about half of all agriculture sales in Georgia.

From an economic standpoint, Secor said lab-grown meat might have some impact, but conventionally raised meat will likely remain the big player, at least in the short run.

To understand the impact of cultivated meat, Secor says, one has to understand how cultivated meat will align with consumers’ expectations and values.

Usually, consumers prioritize taste, nutrition, affordability and availability. After those factors, he says, consumers may then have other concerns like social responsibility and environmental sustainability.

Because lab-grown chicken is more expensive, a substitution effect is unlikely, he said.

“The farmers that are growing the birds domestically, they’re going to be the ones that would be impacted, but I don’t think the impact would be very large at all, especially in the short run. Long run, it’s hard to say,” Secor said.

Similarly, Sanders said he does not see cell-cultured meat completely taking over because of the costs of production and equipment. But if cell-cultured meat did succeed in the market long-term, Sanders says, unemployment would spike in Oglethorpe County.

“It would be such an impact on the economy that … we would never get over it as far as … the amount of people that would be out of a job,” Sanders said.