What is artificial meat made of?: An In-Depth Guide to Its Ingredients and Production

October 19, 2025 •

4 min read

The alternative protein market is expected to take a significant market share from conventional meat in the coming decades. This shift raises a fundamental question for many consumers: what is artificial meat made of? The answer depends on whether you're referring to plant-based or cultivated products.

Quick Summary

Artificial meat refers to two distinct products: plant-based versions made from ingredients like soy and peas, and cultivated meat grown directly from animal cells. Their composition, production methods, and nutritional profiles vary significantly.

Key Points

Plant-Based Ingredients: Artificial meat can be made entirely from plant proteins (peas, soy, wheat), fats (coconut oil), starches, and natural colorings (beetroot).
Cultivated Cell Ingredients: Lab-grown meat is created from real animal cells (stem or muscle cells) cultivated in a nutrient-rich culture medium in a bioreactor.
Nutritional Differences: Plant-based meats often have less saturated fat and more fiber but may contain high levels of sodium. Cultivated meat's nutritional profile can be adjusted, offering benefits like customized fats.
Production Methods: Plant-based options are created through high-moisture extrusion and processing, while cultivated meat involves cellular agriculture and tissue engineering.
Availability and Regulation: Plant-based meat is widely accessible, whereas cultivated meat is only approved for sale in a few countries, like Singapore and the USA.
Ethical and Environmental Benefits: Both alternatives offer significant reductions in land and water use, and animal welfare benefits, compared to traditional meat production.

Understanding the Two Types of Artificial Meat

The term 'artificial meat' is broad and can cause confusion. It primarily refers to two distinct product types, each with its own unique ingredients and manufacturing process. The first, and most common in supermarkets today, is plant-based meat. The second, still an emerging technology, is cultivated or cell-based meat. Both aim to offer alternatives to traditional animal agriculture for ethical, environmental, or health reasons.

What is Plant-Based Artificial Meat made of?

Plant-based artificial meat is a meat analogue created entirely from plant-derived ingredients to mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of real meat. The ingredients are processed to form a product that closely resembles conventional meat, from ground beef to chicken nuggets.

Key ingredients in plant-based alternatives

Proteins: The foundation is usually a protein source such as peas, soybeans (including tofu and tempeh), wheat gluten (seitan), fava beans, or lentils.
Fats: Plant-based oils are added to replicate the juiciness and flavor of animal fat. Common examples include coconut oil, canola oil, and sunflower oil.
Binders and Fillers: Ingredients like potato starch, corn, and grains are used to help hold the product together and provide bulk.
Coloring Agents: Natural ingredients are used to simulate the color of uncooked and cooked meat. Beetroot extract, for instance, can be used to give a pinkish hue. Impossible Foods uses a genetically engineered yeast to produce 'heme', a molecule also found in animal blood, to create a 'bleeding' effect.
Flavorings and Seasonings: A variety of yeast extracts, natural flavors, and seasonings are incorporated to develop the characteristic 'umami' flavor associated with meat.
Added Nutrients: To match the nutritional profile of meat, some plant-based products are fortified with vitamins and minerals, most commonly iron, zinc, and vitamin B12.

What is Cultivated (Lab-Grown) Artificial Meat made of?

Cultivated meat is genuine animal meat, but produced by growing animal cells in a controlled lab environment, rather than harvesting from livestock. While not widely available in supermarkets, the first cell-cultivated chicken was approved for sale in Singapore and the U.S. in recent years.

The cellular agriculture process

Cell Source: The process begins with a small sample of animal cells, often stem cells, taken from a living animal through a harmless biopsy. A single sample can produce millions of pounds of meat.
Cell Culture Medium: The cells are placed in a bioreactor and fed a nutrient-rich liquid called cell culture medium. This medium provides essential nutrients, including amino acids, glucose, vitamins, and minerals, which the cells need to grow and multiply.
Growth and Differentiation: Inside the bioreactor, the cells proliferate and are encouraged to differentiate into the specific types of cells that make up meat, such as muscle and fat cells.
Scaffolding (for some products): For more structured products like steaks, a scaffold may be used to help the cells grow into a three-dimensional tissue. These scaffolds can be made from edible, plant-based materials like textured soy protein or fungal mycelium.
Harvesting and Processing: Once the cells have matured, the resulting tissue is harvested and processed. It can be formed into ground meat or blended with plant-based ingredients for texture and flavor.

Artificial Meat: Nutritional Profile, Production, and Future

Comparison: Plant-Based vs. Cultivated Meat


Aspect	Plant-Based Meat	Cultivated (Lab-Grown) Meat
Source	100% plant-derived (legumes, grains)	Animal cells (muscle, fat) cultivated in a lab
Production	Extrusion of plant proteins, processing with additives	Cell extraction, proliferation in bioreactors with cell culture medium
Nutritional Profile	Varies widely; often higher in sodium and fiber, lower in saturated fat than conventional meat. Some nutrients like B12 must be fortified.	Nutritionally comparable to conventional meat. Potential to be customized (e.g., lower fat, higher omega-3).
Processing Level	Considered ultra-processed due to industrial techniques and additives.	Also highly processed, but with a different set of inputs and processing steps.
Commercial Availability	Widely available in supermarkets and restaurants worldwide.	Very limited availability, primarily in specific restaurants in select countries like Singapore and the US.
Ethical/Environmental	Eliminates animal slaughter, reduces land/water use. Relies on agriculture for plant sources.	Eliminates animal slaughter. Potential for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water consumption, depending on energy sources.

Future Implications and Challenges

The future of artificial meat depends on addressing several challenges, including cost, scalability, and consumer acceptance. For cultivated meat, scaling production from lab benches to industrial-sized bioreactors is a significant hurdle. The cost of cell culture media also needs to decrease to make cultivated meat commercially viable. Consumer perception is another challenge, as some people may be wary of foods produced in a lab. Regulatory oversight also plays a role, with some jurisdictions still developing their frameworks. Both forms of artificial meat, however, hold promise for a more sustainable and ethical food system as technology advances and consumer appetites for alternatives grow.

Conclusion

To answer the question, what is artificial meat made of?, it's crucial to understand the difference between its two main forms. Plant-based versions are a mix of plant proteins, oils, and additives processed to mimic meat, offering a different nutritional profile with notable strengths like fiber and weaknesses like high sodium. In contrast, cultivated meat is grown from actual animal cells using a complex biotechnological process, resulting in a product that is compositionally closer to conventional meat but avoids animal slaughter. As technology evolves, both types of artificial meat present distinct pathways for the future of protein, each with its own set of ingredients, nutritional characteristics, and production challenges. Further research will continue to refine these products, making them more accessible and appealing to a wider consumer base. For more information on the science behind these food technologies, the Good Food Institute is a great resource. Learn more

Frequently Asked Questions

No, the term 'artificial meat' encompasses two categories: plant-based meat and cultivated (lab-grown) meat. Plant-based meat is made from plants, while cultivated meat is grown from animal cells in a laboratory.

Common protein sources include pea protein, soy (tofu, tempeh), and wheat gluten (seitan). These proteins are processed to replicate the texture of muscle fibers.

For plant-based meat, natural extracts like beetroot juice are used for color. In some advanced products, like the Impossible Burger, heme (a molecule produced from engineered yeast) creates a 'bleeding' effect.

Animal cells for cultivated meat are grown in a bioreactor using a nutrient-rich substance called a cell culture medium. This medium contains essential nutrients like amino acids, glucose, vitamins, and minerals.

Potentially. Cultivated meat can be designed to have a more favorable nutritional profile, such as lower saturated fat or enhanced omega-3 fatty acid content. It is also produced in a sterile environment without antibiotics.

Yes, many plant-based meat products are classified as ultra-processed foods due to the industrial processing techniques and additives required to mimic the taste and texture of meat.

Major challenges include the high cost of production (especially the cell culture medium), scaling up manufacturing to meet demand, gaining consumer acceptance, and navigating regulatory approvals.