Is Salmon Considered a Meat? The Surprising Truth About This Popular Fish

In order to make this piece of salmon meat, salmon cells had to be grown. This means that no fish were caught or killed. How is this possible? I’ll explain.

It was one of the first times anyone in the world had tried this salmon, which I’ll call “cultivated.” “But you may also see these lab-grown meats called cell-cultured meat, cell-based meat, clean meat, cultured meat, synthetic meat, slaughter-free meat, lab-grown meat, and other names. More about the naming conventions below. And why these products are NOT, or may not, technically be vegan. And are not plant-based. ).

This cultivated fish — and the one I tried seen here — is from San Francisco-based startup Wildtype. At the cellular level, the DNA of wildtype salmon is the same as the DNA of a caught salmon, which I’ll call “traditional.” So it looks and tastes almost exactly like salmon. I know, you may still be confused, keep reading.

Cultivated meat, like this sushi-grade cultivated salmon from Wildtype, could help us rely less on farming animals and aquaculture, which are both bad for the environment. (Um, have you seen Seaspiracy? If not, stop reading this and go watch it now. You could also say it’s cleaner and healthier because it doesn’t have any mercury, antibiotics, microplastics, or other nasty things that are often found in wild-caught or farmed fish. Yes, it does have Omega-3s and the other nutrients that come from fish. It also has a similar fat and protein balance to regular salmon, though the company says it has a little less protein.

Now some questions you didn’t ask … so I’ll ask them and answer:

Are these cultivated meats plant-based?

When it comes to products and product labeling, “plant-based” has been adopted as a term that’s interchangeable with vegan. It’s a more consumer-friendly term, and when used in relation to a food product or dish, simply means the absence of animal product. However, cultivated meat producers don’t consider their products plant-based, because the base is nothing to do with plants, its actual meat tissue is based on its composition. So no, cultivated meat is not plant-based. You likely won’t see the products labeled as “vegan” or “plant-based” — they are in a new category. (And on the topic of labeling, the FDA and USDA recently launched an open comment period and is taking input from cultured-meat producers and industry stakeholders around naming conventions, which ties into labeling standards.)

When will these cultivated meat products be coming to a restaurant or store near me?

The sale of cultured meat in the US is not allowed yet. The FDA and USDA worked together in 2019 to create a plan for companies that raise animals for food. They said that they would “ensure that regulatory oversight is in place so that, when that happens, food developers bring safe and properly labeled products to the market.” ”.

We’ve still only just scratched the surface of cultivated meat. Hopefully, this helps give you a better understanding of this emerging industry. I will keep writing about this subject for different publications, and you can read more behind-the-scenes posts like this on my blog, Lifes Alternate Route, which is all about keeping you informed and inspired about living a veg-friendly life. I post a lot on my Instagram too, so if you are not following me, do so there. Thanks for following along!.

A short video recapping the tasting is also below:

I posted a few photos on my Instagram from the tasting + interview I did with Wildtype, and got A TON of questions — the most I ever have had on a Story post, so thought I’d drop some of the questions I got — verbatim — along with my answers here:

So is it real fish? Or mock fish?

It’s not real fish in the traditional way we know fish. Typically, a fish has to be born, raised, caught, and slaughtered. This new food technology and way of growing meat makes it possible for fish meat to grow from just a few fish cells. So no fish harmed in the making. Companies are calling their “not-fish” “fish” because the muscle tissue they grow, or “cultivate,” looks a lot like muscle tissue from real fish.

So it’s cultivated … as in farmed? Or cultivated in a lab?

As was already said, the word “cultivation” can be hard to understand since this isn’t the usual fish you know. It just means that meat tissue was grown, or “cultivated,” using brand-new methods that are the result of decades of progress in fields like fermentation, stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and more.

So it’s made in a lab?

No, not really. Think of the process as looking more like a brewery, with fermentation tanks. Fish cells are put in a cultivator tank, which is also known as a bioreactor (a fancy word for a device that helps organisms like yeast, bacteria, or animal cells grow) and are fed a mix of nutrients. What the cells need to grow are the same things that people and fish need, like protein, sugars, and natural minerals like iron and zinc. For example, in the case of Wildtype’s salmon, the cells are fed a mix of nutrients, and then they are put into plant-based structures where they are taught how to turn into the fish meat that we know and love. (Yes, I am getting to the taste part. Read on…).

What was the texture?

Another sushi chef made a salmon roll and some sashimi while the tasting was going on. They intentionally didn’t use sauce so I could get the taste and texture without interference. The sashimi enabled me to really feel the texture. It was buttery, smooth, but also felt a little bit structured or gummy. Not so different than I remember traditional raw salmon feeling. But perhaps a tad bit gummier than I remember traditional salmon.

Was it good? (How did it taste? … and many other versions of this question were asked)

This was the most asked question; people wanted to know how it tasted. It was good. That was weird for me because I don’t eat fish anymore, but it made me think of the times I did, and it tasted just like I remember. I don’t think you would know you’re eating a cultivated piece of salmon vs. a traditional salmon.

When was the last time you ate real fish to compare?

The last time I ate fish was 7+ years ago. While Ive always been a heavy plant-based eater, I used to eat seafood periodically before going vegan. And ironically, the last animal product I ate before going full vegan was a piece of salmon. But I do remember the taste and felt I could adequately compare.

Is there just this “cell fish”? Or other cell-based meats?

Cultivated (cell-based) meat producers are making all sorts of animal-product doppelgangers. From beef, to fish, to chicken and more.

Is this type of product vegan?

There is an ongoing discussion about if cultivated meat is, or could be, vegan. The population of vegans in the world is relatively small, and cultured meat is not really targeted at us, but it’s an important question (for me at least) to ponder and answer.

To begin, I want to say that I am a vegan. Based on my vegan beliefs, I believe this product, specifically the Wildtype fish, is safe for me to eat. Also, trying it doesn’t make me less vegan. I support new technologies that don’t hurt animals and work to end animal farming’s abuse and damage to the environment. These technologies also work to make the world better, cleaner, healthier, more food-secure, and less reliant on animal food.

Wildtype for example is using the same fish cells to produce its salmon today from cells swabbed from a fish three years ago. Also, take Eat Just, and its cultured chicken from its sister brand GOOD Meat. They have a cultivated chicken product being sold in Singapore currently, the only country that as of now has approved the sale of cultivated meat — and they are granting approval to companies, not the market as a whole. So Eat Justs GOOD Meat is the only brand that currently has the approval to sell. GOOD Meat tells a story of letting a chicken’s feather naturally fall from its body as it strutted around, then using the cells from that feather to go make their cultivated chicken product. So thats on the topic of obtaining the cells.

The very thing that might make it possibly the least vegan is the nutrient-rich mix that is “fed” to cells in the bioreactor, which could come from animal products. Fetal bovine serum, or FBS, is a well-known growth hormone that does, as the name suggests, come from cows that are still in the womb. People who work for these companies often keep their growth mixtures a secret, so it might be hard to figure out what’s in them. (FDA regulation may force exposure of this when they come to market, but time will tell with that. ) According to LA Times reporting on the topic, many companies do use FBS. The aforementioned GOOD Meat, as revealed in the reporting, does use FBS according to the report. Also, some companies use gelatin in their scaffolding structures, which help shape the meat as it grows. (Gelatin is an animal-derived product that vegans avoid. There is no talk about these animal-based products being used, if they are, and no company is saying that their products are “vegan.” ” Vegans or vegetarians considering eating cultivated meat products will want to know these details. Note that the Wildtype, the fish I tested, says it doesnt use FBS or gelatin.

Some industry groups say cultivated meat is “actual animal tissue, therefore, it is not vegan. “I don’t agree, and I’m not as focused on the cellular composition, DNA, or structure as some groups are. Instead, I’m judging based on ethics and the animal-based ingredients used in the process.” Again, these products probably won’t have a vegan label on them, but I leave it up to you to decide what’s right for you based on your morals and beliefs. Since each producer grows their products in a slightly different way, it may depend on you.

One important thing to keep in mind is that factory-farmed meat is not and probably never will be aimed at vegans. I know from a few informal polls that many vegans don’t want to eat factory-farmed meat, even if it’s technically “vegan” or fits with their morals. Many of us have just simply lost any interest in eating animal-like products. For instance, I’ve never had beef or red meat, so I’m not interested in the plant-based burgers that taste like meat that are currently on the market. And I probably wont eat a cell-based steak or burger. Cultivated meat, on the other hand, is an important food technology that is changing what “meat” means and making it possible to make meat without using cruel and environmentally destructive animal farming.

Beef vs Salmon. Winner?

Is salmon a meat?

Salmon is a common fish classified as an oily fish with high protein content and omega-3 fatty acids. It is commonly referred to as meat by many meat eaters, and as seafood by pescatarians. What Kind of Meat is Salmon Considered?

Is farmed salmon as nutritious as wild salmon?

Scientific evidence suggests that farmed salmon may be larger than wild salmon and have a higher omega-3 content. However, it may also be more likely to contain contaminants.

Is salmon considered white meat?

Salmon is considered white meat and is classified as a member of the oily fish species, containing oils and essential nutrients making it a great option for those following certain dietary preferences, as they can incorporate their oil and vitamins through this type of animal protein.

What type of fish is salmon?

Salmon is a common food fish classified as an oily fish with a rich content of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Norway is a major producer of farmed and wild salmon, accounting for more than 50% of global salmon production.