Lunch from the Lab: A Panel Discussion on the Ethics and Realities of Cultured Meat

Is cultured meat real meat? Can a vegan ethically eat it? When will lab-grown meat be available to eat, and will it be affordable? Join us for a panel discussion focusing on these and other questions about cultured meat and its potential to replace traditional meat as well as its place in the vegan movement. Moderated by Victoria Moran from Vegan Nation, the panel brings together three experts who can offer insight into different aspects of cultured meat and its significance for both vegans and non-vegans.

Add the event to your calendar using the calendar options at the bottom of the page, and tune in to watch on our homepage (nevegfest.org) or on Facebook (facebook.com/nevegfest).

About the Panelists

Glenn Gaudette

Glenn R. Gaudette, PhD, is the Inaugural Chair and Professor of Engineering at Boston College. He and his collaborators have pioneered the use of plants as scaffold for heart regeneration. This work lead to significant recognition, including John and his colleagues being featured throughout the world including Bill Nye Saves the World (on Netflix), CBS’s Innovation Nation, the BBC (live interview) and Popular Science. The work was invited to be on display at the Centre Pompidou (Paris) as part of an exhibit entitled “The Factory of Life.” Recently, a children’s book (From Plant to Human: The Extraordinary Spinach-Leaf Heart by Oscar Silver) was published about this inspiring work. His recent research aims to develop cost-effective methods for growing meat in the laboratory setting, which could reduce our reliance on conventional animal agriculture. John is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and the National Academy of Inventors.

Liz Marshall

Liz Marshall is a multi-award-winning Canadian filmmaker who has written, directed, produced, and filmed socially conscious impactful documentaries since the 1990s, with diverse teams, including The Ghosts in Our Machine and Water on the Table. In Meat the Future, released in May 2020, Liz chronicles the birth of the cell-based meat industry in North America and profiles innovators working to make it a reality.

Liz’s work has taken her around the globe to West and sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, South and South East Asia, East and Central Europe, Central and South America, and across the United States and Canada. She believes in the connective language and powerful platform of film and television to create change. Currently, Liz is focused on a global impact and distribution campaign for Meat the Future. She is writing her first narrative fiction script with an old friend, and developing new documentary projects. Liz believes in the connective language and powerful platform of film and television to create change.

John Sanbonmatsu

John Sanbonmatsu is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he teaches ethics and social/political theory. His writing on animals has appeared in Huffington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch, among other places. John is author of the book, The Postmodern Prince, about the crisis of left intellectual thought, as well as editor of the book Critical Theory and Animal Liberation, an anthology that illuminates connections between speciesism and other systems of domination and violence.

A vegan of more than 30 years, John is presently completing work on a new book, The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and the Nature of Moral Life, a decisive refutation of the myth of “humane” animal agriculture and the idea that animals can be killed “compassionately.” John also created and directs www.CleanMeat-Hoax.com.

About the Moderator

Victoria Moran

A vegan for over three decades, Victoria Moran hosts the award-winning Main Street Vegan podcast and was listed by VegNews in the Top 10 Living Vegetarian Authors. Victoria’s books include The Love-Powered Diet, The Good Karma Diet, and Main Street Vegan. She has been featured on Oprah twice and is director of Main Street Vegan Academy. She is also known for her work in the self-help and spirituality genre, including her bestselling book Creating a Charmed Life and her work as producer on Prayer for Compassion, a 2019 documentary exploring the intersection of food choices and spirituality. Most recently, Victoria co-founded The Compassion Consortium, a spiritual home for people who embrace the ethic of ahimsa. Victoria lives with her husband, rescue dog, and rescue pigeon in a “green” building in New York City.

Victoria will also be participating in NEVF’s Speaker Showcase on Sunday, August 1, at 12pm EST.