Perception of cultured meat among Sri Lankan community

Abstract

Production of cultured meat involves synthesizing meat from animal tissue samples in a controlled environment using biotechnology. This study was directed to understand the perception of Sri Lankan consumer on cultured meat consumption. A structural survey was conducted in Sri Lanka using a probability sample of 14200 people from 11 districts and it was selected proportionately to the population in selected divisional secretariat divisions of these districts. The result of the survey revealed that 75% of the population was interested in accepting the cultured meat. The study showed that the meat consumers usually considered the health benefits mostly followed by nutritional properties, sensory properties especially the flavor and texture and meat price. Participants have understood the advantages of cultured meat in terms of animal welfare, environmental aspects, and food security of the country. Therefore, it can be concluded that there will be a substantial market for cultured meat, when it is introduced to the market. Educating people about intrinsic properties of cultured meat will also be important. In addition, the regression analysis showed that the acceptance level of cultured meat increased with the education level of consumers.