On Wednesday, the United States Department of Agriculture gave the go-ahead to two companies looking to sell meat products grown from cultured cells and offering what they say is a more humane, sustainable alternative to animal products.
The lab-grown meat movement has already cleared some other regulatory hurdles, the Associated Press reported, including getting confirmation from the Food and Drug Administration that the product is safe for consumption. Just don’t expect it to replace good old-fashioned butchering overnight—surveys show U.S. consumers are still uneasy about artificial meat, and the companies’ production capacity pales in comparison to the existing meat industry.