Meat made from cells, not livestock, is here. But will it ever replace traditional meat?

A familiar aroma wafted through the Believer Meats test kitchen earlier this year as Research and Development Chef Andres Voloschin flipped sizzling strips of chicken conjured from cells. Scientists, not farmers, produced this chicken. More than 150 startups are chasing an ambitious goal: meat that doesn’t require raising and killing animals that is affordable and tastes and feels like the meat we eat now. They are part of a young industry aiming to use cell biology to reduce the environmental impact of the world’s ever-increasing demand for meat and change global protein production the way electric cars are shaking up the auto industry. “We are addicted to meat as a species. It’s part of our evolution. It’s part of our culture,” said Believer founder Yaakov Nahmias, whose country, Israel, is an industry hub along with California and Singapore. But “we thought about quantity rather than the environment, rather than sustainability.”