How consumers perceive a new product that is about to enter the market is one of the most important factors influencing its sales success. There are many myths surrounding cultivated meat. At BeneMeat, our goal — and as a biotechnology company with more than 100 scientists, also our responsibility — is to educate the public on this topic and help dispel these myths. One of the most frequently mentioned reasons why consumers might reject cultivated meat is fear of its origin and the feeling that it is something “artificial.”
The sense that cultivated meat is “artificial” or “not real” strongly shapes resistance. In Greece, 80% of participants described it as unnatural; similar attitudes are found in Germany and the UK. The EIT “More Than Meat” (2025) study frames this as a cultural issue — meat in Europe symbolizes tradition, community, and authenticity, which makes associations with cultivated meat particularly sensitive.
At BeneMeat, we do everything we can to ensure that all the raw materials entering our production process meet the highest safety standards. We believe in transparency and open education. However, when discussing ‘naturalness,’ it is worth asking what it really means in today’s world. Almost nothing on our plates today is untouched nature — virtually all modern food, including traditional meat and agricultural crops, has been shaped by centuries of selective breeding, human intervention, and processing. If we applied a strict standard of original ‘nature,’ very little of today’s diet would qualify. Cultivated meat is simply the next logical step in feeding a growing population safely — using real animal cells in a controlled, clean environment.
