The Department of Defense has allocated nearly $1.5 million in taxpayer funds to a company run by a Democratic donor, which specializes in producing lab-grown meat from fermented fungus.
The Better Meat Company, led by CEO Paul Shapiro, a known Democratic donor and activist, focuses on creating meat alternatives using fungus protein. The grant will support the establishment of a bioproduction facility designed to produce mycoprotein ingredients that are shelf-stable, high in protein and fiber, and suitable for dehydration. The company’s process involves cultivating fungal roots in a bioreactor with water and nutrients, resulting in a semi-solid gray liquid that is eventually processed into the final product.
A Pentagon spokesperson told The Daily Wire that the grant is intended to fund a bioproduction facility capable of producing protein types that are shelf-stable, nutrient-rich, and able to meet the sustainment needs of deployed military forces around the world.
“We are investing in sources of protein such as chickpeas and tofu. The Department is not funding research into ‘lab-grown’ or ‘fake meat’ – nor does it have plans to include such protein substitutes in service members’ MREs,” the Pentagon spokesman went on to say.
The grant will fund a “facility for mycoprotein ingredients,” which are precisely the components used to produce the lab-grown meat. The Daily Wire inquired with the Defense Department about whether the Better Meat Company will use these facilities to produce fake meat during or after the grant period but has not yet received a response.
The Defense Department had previously announced plans to supply imitation meat to soldiers to lower its carbon footprint. However, following significant backlash, it retracted that plan in July. Nonetheless, the Pentagon appears to have reversed its position once more by awarding the grant to the Better Meat Company.
“We believe the future of meat production is fermentation-fueled,” the Better Meat Company claims on its site. “We aspire to revolutionize the meat industry by creating a new and better way to make meat,” it says, referencing its faux-meat product.
Jack Hubbard, Executive Director of the Center for the Environment and Welfare, an organization dedicated to guiding consumers, companies, and stakeholders on sustainability and animal welfare issues, has sharply criticized the Defense Department’s grant. He voiced concerns that the funding would support a company producing lab-grown meat.
“America’s foreign adversaries are mocking us,” Hubbard declared, arguing that the Pentagon should focus on national security rather than allocating taxpayer money to companies that produce artificial meat.
Additionally, some fake meat products have been linked to health issues such as hives and throat swelling, according to one study.
The Better Meat Company’s focus on fake meat seems driven by ideology. CEO Paul Shapiro, formerly a vice president at the Humane Society, has been described in a 2018 Politico profile—which also detailed serious sexual harassment allegations against him—as “one of the nation’s most influential animal rights advocates.”
“The problem today is that we are using vast numbers of geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows, and other animals that we frankly really like to eat,” Shapiro said in a speech about his company.
Shapiro has a record of donating to Democratic figures, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
