Australians Say They Know About Cultivated Meat – But Fewer Are Willing to Eat It

LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE

Consumer trust stalls as FSANZ data shows cultivated meat confidence stuck below 50%

Australia and New Zealand's food regulator, FSANZ, has released fresh numbers showing while awareness of cultivated meat remains steady, confidence in eating it hasn’t budged and for a country eyeing food-tech as its next big export opportunity, that’s a bit of a snag.

Source: Magic Valley Australia Labaratory testing image

According to FSANZ’s 2025 consumer insights snapshot, 66% of Australians say they’ve heard of cultivated meat (aka lab-grown or cell-cultured meat), but only 48% say they’d be confident eating it. That figure hasn’t shifted since 2023. Cultivated dairy scores a little better, with 59% confidence.

In other words, we know what it is, we’re just not sure if we want it on our plates.

This stagnation suggests that cultivated meat is trapped in a sort of cognitive limbo in the Aussie psyche - visible but suspicious. Think, a neighbour who waves at you over the fence but has a weirdly shaped compost bin.

That’s the question still plaguing consumers. FSANZ’s report doesn’t delve deeply into the ‘ick’ factor, but previous studies show it's a potent blocker. Even as local startups like Vow and Magic Valley push ahead, with regulatory approvals and innovation galore, average punters remain squeamish.

Some still confuse cultivated meat with “processed” or “synthetic,” while others lump it in with plant-based meat, even though it’s grown from real animal cells. The irony? Cultivated meat was developed in part to address the exact concerns these same consumers have about industrial farming - climate change, antibiotics, animal welfare.

Source: Magic Valley Australia Cultivated meat testing at Alt.Protein 2024

While Singapore and Japan are busy trialling cultivated chicken nuggets and bluefin tuna cuts at commercial scale, Australia risks falling behind, not in innovation, but in consumer readiness. That matters because no matter how slick the R&D is, the fork still gets the final vote.

The FSANZ numbers suggest education alone isn’t the answer. Australians have been informed for years. What they now need is something rarer in food-tech, which is trust.

So what’s missing? A bit of plain-speaking, perhaps. Less “disruption,” more dinner. Less bioreactor, more barbie. Less Bill Gates, more Bill from Bunnings.

Audio Sponsors Link

ENDS: