Salmon is one of the most popular seafood choices in stores all over the world. Last year salmon sales grew and this seafood option is said to make up over 20% of all fish sales. Technology has changed salmon options too in recent years, bringing us new items like 3D printed salmon fillets.
Are consumers going to be interested though in a salmon option that has been 3D printed from lentils? Marketed as vegan and sustainable it's another animal based option printed in a lab that is coming to store shelves. We might see a variety of these products come out in the years to come as more companies look to grow food in a lab like steaks, salmon, and more.
The 3D printed food market has been growing and it is incredible to see the variety that can be created, from cakes to cheese options, burger patties, and more. But how open are consumers to buying these food types? There are some barriers to acceptance and some people might not be able to get past the fact that it has been printed and they also might not be interested based on what has gone into the product, if they were looking for animal based meat then lentils don't make the cut, do they? At least not for some who would prefer the natural option.
The plan is for 3D printed food to drastically change the food landscape and we are already seeing more lab grown items come around. Surveys haven't shown a great deal of interest from consumers in opting for lab grown meat though, getting them to choose this option might be an uphill battle.
Regardless of the supposed benefits there are some who just look at the lab grown meat option as disgusting and they won't be open to purchasing it with their dollars. These food items might be new but that doesn't mean many are willing to eat lab grown meat yet or that they ever will. We saw that during the pandemic even though store shelves were emptied of things like dairy and meat products quickly, there was still often an abundance of fake meat items to be seen indicating that they just aren't that appealing to many regardless of a short supply of food choices available. Will that ever change? They might do better in some regions over others, as polls have indicated that China and India for example might be more open to the idea of lab grown meat products as opposed to other areas.
Pics:
pixabay
Sources:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/28/3d-printing-fish-grouper-fillet-stem-cells-overfishing/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666321007364
https://phys.org/news/2018-08-consumers-necessarily-sold-cultured-meat.html
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/3/5/18250033/vegan-vegetarian-clean-meat-cultured-plant-based
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/17/consumers-arent-necessarily-sold-on-eating-cultured-meat-from-a-lab.html