Lab-grown steak kosher, Israel’s chief rabbi says

The Chief Rabbi of Israel has declared that a lab-grown steak is kosher.

Chief Rabbi Baruch Lau has ruled that Aleph Farms’ cultivated meats — grown from a cow still living in California — are permissible under Jewish law, the company announced.

This will enable the company to receive a kosher certificate ahead of its market launch later this year. 

The ruling has opened the door for Aleph Farms to certify its production facility in Rehovot and its products as kosher — creating a new point of entry into the lucrative kosher market.

It also is a promising sign for the company’s attempts to market its products to other religious groups with strict rules around meat consumption or ritual slaughter — like Muslims and Hindus.

The growing preference for kosher beef in key countries like France, the U.S. and Israel has driven growth in the kosher market, which is expected to reach around $100 billion by 2030, according to Research and Markets.

Aleph’s announcement comes alongside more significant growth in the cultured meat industry. Research and Markets forecasts that the lab-grown meat market will be worth about $2 billion in 2035.

Those forms of meat have one major cost-saving advantage over traditional kosher and halal food: They don’t require the labor-intensive slaughter and preparation of meat from a living animal, which are a principal reason why these forms of meat are more expensive.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, as many as 80 percent of cattle sold to kosher slaughterhouses fail to meet the strict criteria that would make them kosher — driving up costs across the supply chain.