Questions For OMeat’s Cow Plasma Extraction Farm

Is Plenty truly a “humane” and “affordable” growth medium alternative?

My latest article for Forbes shines a light on a disturbing new business model by a biotech meat start-up called Omeat. The company claims to make an “ethical alternative to fetal bovine serum” by extracting plasma from adult cows on a farm.

Yes, you read that right. Plasma. From. Live. Cows. If it sounds crazy it’s because it is.

Using buzz terms such as “ethical”, “regenerative”, “environmentally friendly”, and “slaughter-free”, Omeat makes two separate sets of claims worth examining. One related to animal welfare, and the other regarding economics and scalability.

Just as disturbing to me is why the founder of the Vegan Women Summit is actively promoting Omeat on her social media. The burger is far from vegan, between the cells AND the plasma extracted from cows, it’s humanewashing on steroids.

Perhaps her shameless promotion could be “explained” by the fact that her husband is employed as Omeat’s “chief strategy officer”? (I cannot point to his LinkedIn profile because both members of the couple have blocked me on LinkedIn simply for asking questions, but I digress.)

Check out my article at Forbes and let me know what you think. And of course, please share widely.