A new type of food created in laboratories – lab grown meat (LGM) is an alternative to traditional animal farming and attracting attention of media, industry experts and consumers. Why is this new product so controversial? It is claimed that cell-based meat production is more environmentally friendly, ethical and sustainable than traditional methods that involve animals. Hence, being less harmful and potentially slowing down environmental degradation that leads to climate change. However, consumers have concerns regarding product quality, sourcing of cells used for production and use of growth serums. So many differing views are present, even before LGM is introduced as a marketable product. This paper examines what drives public discourse regarding how this new industry can be regulated, technology and how social media posts, fake news and publicly available rhetoric address consumer concerns and consumer acceptance regarding this new food category.

• Edwina Luck(Queensland University of Technology, Australia)
• Barbara Gligorijevic(Australian National Institute of Management and Commerce (IMC), Australia)
• Shane Mathews(Queensland University of Technology, Australia)