I was pleased to learn the National Science Foundation recently awarded a $3.5 million grant to researchers studying cultured meat at the University of California, Davis.

In case you don’t know, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering animals. Sens. Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema should support more funding to help develop this nascent industry, which has the potential to benefit animal welfare, the environment and human health.

Cultured meat saves our fellow creatures from unimaginable deprivation and torture on factory farms. It requires a fraction of the greenhouse-gas emissions to produce that raising livestock does.

Further, since animals are removed from production, cultured meat reduces the risk of spread of diseases like COVID-19.

We need greater federal funding for development of this revolutionary protein, in order to bring it to market faster and make it cost-competitive.

Jon Hochschartner
Granby, Connecticut