by Cassie B, The Free Thought Project:
Lab-grown meat is proving to be a spectacular failure, and producers are becoming so desperate that many are pushing for a public subsidy to stay afloat.
Preliminary data from the venture capital firm AgFunder shows that funding in the lab meats sector fell by 78% in 2023 to reach $177 million, down from $807 million in 2022 and a peak of $989 million in 2021.
In response to the steep drop in investments, many lab meat startups have been slashing staff numbers and consolidating operations, while others are closing their doors entirely. Now, they want taxpayers to shoulder the burden of helping them right the ship after taking a chance on something that many of us knew from the start was doomed to fail.