Cultivated meat and the right to adequate food: Enhancing the normative framework to support a shift to sustainable food systems

Global meat consumption has tripled over the past 50 years and is expected to further increase owing to rising incomes and population growth, particularly in emerging economies. Meanwhile, it is well established that meat production is a cause of, and will be impacted by, the climate crisis. Consequently, there is an urgent need for food systems transformation. One technology which may be part of this transformation is the production of meat through the cultivation of animal cells in a laboratory environment, known as cultivated meat. This article undertakes a critical analysis of the opportunities and challenges associated with cultivated meat vis-à-vis the right to adequate food, as protected under Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It focuses on three key components of the right articulated by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR): availability, accessibility, and quality. Using cultivated meat as a case study, the article argues that whilst CESCR and Special Procedure mandate-holders provide an indication of how to support this shift to sustainable food systems, the right to adequate food framework requires an evolving interpretation to ensure sustainable food technologies do not widen existing global socio-economic inequalities.