Do you know cultivated meat? Typically, making this sort of meat starts with cells from domestic animals. The cells are grown in bioreactors full of nutrient-rich liquid, and then harvested, and eventually become products such as steak or chicken. In a homely kitchen of Eat Just, a startup, a slice of such meat was fried and then served with peppers. The first mouthful of it was extraordinary because the meat was grown in a lab, rather than on an animal. Meanwhile, it was also dull, because the texture, taste, look and smell of the meat was almost identical to that of chicken.

In June, Eat Just and Upside Foods became the first two companies to win regulatory approval to sell cultivated meat in America. A handful of other firms are trying to bring cultivated meat to market. But the hope is fading owing to continued high costs and troubles with mass production.

The UN reports meat and dairy production already accounts for 12% of humanity’s greenhouse-gas emissions, Demand for meat is skyrocketing among the growing middle classes of Africa and Asia. Lab-grown meat could help meet that demand without the world breaking its carbon budget. By contrast, two-fifths of Americans claim to restrict their meat consumption either for ethical(伦理的) reasons or environmental ones. Lab-grown meat may seem less ethically worrisome than eating animals. And the early success of plant-based meat alternatives gave investors hope. Beyond Meat, one such firm, went public in 2019, and saw its value shoot to $14 billion.

Though lab-grown meat offers an alternative to farm-grown meat, questions have been raised about how climate-friendly it can be. A study published earlier this year found that in some circumstances cultivated meat could be more polluting than the conventional stuff because the bioreactor is in great need of power to control its temperature. Consequently, only if renewable energy is used in the production process will cultivated meat cut the carbon footprint of the meat industry.

Whether this effort can make lab-grown meat attractive and cheap enough to attract consumers remains to be seen.

【小题1】What does the author focus on concerning cultivated meat in paragraph 1?

A．Its characteristics.	B．Its health benefits.
C．Its cooking methods.	D．Its similarities to artificial meat.

【小题2】What can we infer from paragraph 3?

A．Most Americans skip meat.

B．Asians prefer lab-grown meat.

C．Beyond Meat is facing financial collapse.

D．Lab-grown meat may have a vast consumer market.

【小题3】In which aspect does the cultivated-meat industry damage the environment?

A．Poisonous chemical leaks.	B．Land occupation.
C．Grecnhouse-gas emissions.	D．Water consumption.

【小题4】What’s the author’s attitude to lab-grown meat?

A．Opposed.

B．Favorable.

C．Uncaring.

D．Reserved.