You have to go into really fringe circles to find support for lab grown meat. I mean really fringe -- like people who think vegans are too conventional. Most people are absolutely disgusted by the idea[1], and so you are not going to get a lot of popular support for subsidizing this industry via the taxpayer.
At the same time, VCs are supposed to be unconventional. This is perfect for VCs, so that is the appropriate funding route for the lab meat and bug meat industries.
> When we split the poll results out by income, participants in households earning over $75,000 per year were nearly twice as likely to say they’d purchase cultured meat (47 percent), compared to those in households earning less than $25,000 per year (26 percent).
That’s not as fringe as you’re claiming, and seems to be more a price concern.
It’s also mostly abstract for now. Get it on the shelves and some positive reviews and I’d expect opinion to shift.
Anecdotally, I have had the exact opposite reaction. Many people I know are fine with something that can reasonably substitute the taste with the same or lower cost, and comparable nutrition.
I'm not sure subsidies will catch on, but it's less radical to suggest eating artificial meat than to suggest veganism.
Once I can’t tell the difference in taste (and Impossible is already there for utility hamburgers and other low/mid-grade ground beef uses) and price (Impossible is terribly uncompetitive here), I’ll happily switch.
I’m not sure that’s a majority view, but I think it’s going to be a > 25% view. If it’s 25% cheaper, it’ll be a 50% view.
At the same time, VCs are supposed to be unconventional. This is perfect for VCs, so that is the appropriate funding route for the lab meat and bug meat industries.
[1] https://theconversation.com/would-you-eat-meat-from-a-lab-co...