Environmental Impact of Cultured Meat: A Systematic Review

As the global demand for animal protein continues to grow, conventional livestock farming increasingly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, deforestation, and water scarcity. Cultured meat, produced via cellular agriculture, has been proposed as a sustainable alternative, but its environmental benefits remain debated. This systematic review, conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, evaluated the environmental impact of cultured meat production compared with conventional meat. PubMed and Scopus were searched for English-language articles published between January 2014 and April 2025. Nine eligible studies were included. Outcomes of interest were energy use, land use, water use, and GHG emissions as assessed through life cycle assessment (LCA) models. Results showed consistent reductions in land use (up to 99%) and water use (up to 96%) compared to conventional beef. However, GHG emissions showed substantial variability across studies, ranging from reductions relative to beef, pork, and chicken to high-end estimates of 25.19 kg CO2eq/kg in specific scenarios. Across the included studies, estimated energy demand emerged as the major bottleneck, with values spanning 12–1508 MJ/kg of meat, often exceeding those of poultry or pork. This variability reflects differences in modeling assumptions related to bioreactor operation, thermal regulation, oxygen transfer, and culture-medium production. In most scenarios, energy use was higher than that of poultry or pork unless low-carbon or fully renewable electricity mixes were assumed. The production of culture media, especially amino acids and growth factors, was identified as an additional environmental hotspot. In conclusion, cultured meat shows promise in reducing land and water footprints and potentially lowering GHG emissions if renewable energy sources are employed. However, its sustainability remains uncertain due to the high energy intensity and reliance on agriculturally derived inputs for cell culture media. Future research should prioritize serum-free media development, renewable energy integration, and empirical data from pilot-scale facilities to refine the current theoretical models.