People don't want to eat lab-grown meat because they think it's unnatural, researchers at the University of California found. In addition, meat eaters consider it not similar enough to meat, and vegetarians consider it too similar. The study was published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

The researchers invited 1,587 volunteers, described to them the process of producing cultured meat and how to cook it, and then asked them to rate their willingness to try it. There were, however, few applicants, and about 35% of meat-eaters and 55% of vegetarians said that they were so disgusted with cultured meat that they could not even bring themselves to bite off a piece. The main factor that caused hostility was the unnaturalness of such meat.

“As a new food product that people have never encountered before, cultured meat may be questionable because it seems so unnatural and unfamiliar - and potentially so disgusting,” the authors of the work write.

Interestingly, meat eaters found cultured meat too different from real meat, while vegetarians found it too similar.

In the future, cultured meat will inevitably appear on the market, and it is important to understand how exactly it should be presented to the population, scientists say. In terms of useful properties, such meat will not differ from ordinary meat, but will reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock farming, as well as reduce the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases among animals. However, apparently, these factors are not enough for potential consumers.

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