Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World Paperback – April 9, 2024

A little relevant background information on me so you know where I'm approaching this book from. I've been a vegetarian for about 5 years, first started because of health related reasons (with disgusting conditions of meat) after seeing a documentary called "What The Health". Then I became more emboldened with my passion towards sustainability with my initial interest in Tesla and my learning of the inefficiencies of animal agriculture. Finally, with having some new pets in the home I've grown quite close to, I have grown to care deeply about the treatment of the animals as well. I have spent the past 8 months or so reading everything I can related to alternative proteins, almost everything published from the Good Food Institute and some other resources, so cultivated meat was not an entirely new concept for me.My favorite parts of the book were the historical dives on the different industries and processes. I thought this was really eye opening and put everything in context. For instance, the explanation of the whale oil industry, and how quickly kerosene came to replace it really can motivate one to the potential of how quickly an industry can change if the right product is introduced. I found this incredibly inspiring.I always have hesitance when I read about some of the animal agriculture conditions in these factories. On the one hand, I know some people cannot handle the information, and will turn their brains off and they won't hear anything after that, but these may not be the audience reading Paul Shapiro’s book. I know personally for many years when I heard about these conditions I would immediately turn my brain off because I wasn't prepared to hear about it and I wasn't really interested in taking the effort to change my diet. I'd imagine if someone is picking up this book they are more open to changing their diet and are seeking out the information, so it may be appropriate to give them the good, bad, and the ugly. With that said, the descriptions of the animal agriculture conditions, such as chickens in places so tight they can't open their wings, covered in fecal material, so heavy they can barely walk without falling over, and constantly pushed against other chickens, was absolutely gut-wrenching. I had a strong reaction and it literally brings tears to my eyes. I will never forget it. So I think it was a hard, but good decision to keep some descriptions of these factories in this book, even with as hard as it may be to read it.I loved the section talking about GMOs and how like most technology it can be used for good or bad. Golden rice and insulin being absolutely essential examples of it being used for good. Also, I don't remember if this was included in the book, but I believe that I read somewhere that 10,000 pigs used to be slaughtered for 1 kg of insulin (22,000 pigs per lb). In addition to reducing the massive slaughter, we also got incredible human benefits from being able to produce it through fermentation (such as having the actual human insulin instead of pig based insulin), so that was a great example of using GMOs for good. I'm also incredibly happy for the success of Impossible Foods so we have a large champion for GMOs that people may be more willing to trust than the traditional agriculture companies.I understand the focus of this book may have been around cultivated meat, and I remember towards the middle and end it opened up a discussion towards some fermentation (such as GMO processes mentioned previously), but I hope if there is ever a future edition, the author can really get into the weeds of the different fermentation processes to make alternative proteins and also some of the new plant-based methods people are using to make meat like textures and tastes. I think there are a lot of exciting processes out there that a reader of this book would also likely be interested in. From biomass fermentation of these different fungi, to the potential to make fats and proteins through precision fermentation, to anything in between.All-in-all, I think it was a great introduction to clean meat and hope to see future editions expanded to encompass the entire alternative protein industry. Either way, it's a great first read for someone trying to learn more about this industry. Thanks to Paul for writing the book and all the other work you've done in the industry. You've really helped significantly accelerate the industry, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Paul Shapiro’s Clean Meat is the most inspiring book I’ve ever read. It offers a clear and compelling vision for the future of food, showing how cultivated meat could solve many of the issues tied to traditional animal agriculture.I loved how Paul draws historical parallels—like kerosene replacing whale oil in the 19th century and cars replacing horse-drawn carriages in the 20th century. These examples make the shift to clean meat feel not only possible but INEVITABLE. The arguments against lab-grown meat, as Paul points out, often sound like the Natural Ice industry’s resistance to refrigeration: shortsighted and rooted in fear of change.Paul is also refreshingly pragmatic. He acknowledges that not everyone will go vegan for the animals or the planet, and that’s okay. Clean meat represents a technological solution that could make factory farming obsolete—efficiently and without requiring everyone to change their habits overnight.This book gave me hope and reignited my belief that we can find solutions to the massive challenges facing our food system. If you care about sustainability, ethics, or the future of food, this is a must-read.

I highly recommend Paul Shapiro's inspiring and informative book called "Clean Meat". We need cultivated meat ASAP, so that we are no longer enabling deadly zoonotic diseases like H5N1 by confining large numbers of animals together. Factory farming is horrendous for people, for animals, and for the environment. Cultivated meat is the answer.

Shapiro cleanly summarizes the industry and organizations that are working in the clean meat space. The book does not dive deep into the science, though some of it is there, but does look at the major investors that have helped to develop clean meat and the cellular agriculture over the past decade. For such a potentially breakthrough technology there is a surprisingly small group of companies and individuals working on commercializing the technology though that is changing rapidly.Hopefully the book stands to be a strong historical narrative of how the early days of the industry formed, though there is no doubt that the events chronicled in it will quickly be outdated. Even since the printing of the book at least two of the major players highlighted in it (Tyson Foods and Memphis meets) have announced collaborations, via Tyson funding Memphis, that would have been worth noting had it happened only a few months prior.Overall Shapiro also does a good job of avoiding a "preachy tone", and does not appear to demonize or crimalize everyone involved in the existing industry or meat eaters as a whole. Instead the book highlights countless observations where progress and the status quo have lead to questionable and unsustainable practices and lets the author draw their own conclusions. If you were someone driven to pick it up it is unlikely you will come away enthusiastic about your next meat eating experience, unless of course you are one of the lucky ones who will be dining on cultured meat.