The main reason that lab-grown meat is better than traditional meat is that it saves the environment. Traditional meat damages the environment and drains much-needed resources in many ways, such as:

 

1. Wasting Resources: In order to keep livestock alive, a farmer needs land, food, and water. Animals such as pigs and cows need a lot of these resources to survive. However, these resources could have been used to feed starving people. The land could have also been used to create homes for people who are too poor to afford one. "More than 2/3 of agricultural land worldwide is dedicated to feeding livestock. In contrast, only eight percent of agricultural land produces food exclusively for humans." By creating lab-grown meat, we could be using these resources to their full potential, and assist people who desperately need help.

2. Fossil Fuels: Cows release greenhouse gases (such as methane) through a process called enteric fermentation. However, methane is incredibly dangerous for many reasons:

   • Cows emit the equivalent of 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year.

   • "Current and former World Bank environmental specialists conducted their own study and argue that livestock actually accounts for 51 percent of the world’s anthropogenic greenhouse gasses."  

   • Methane traps heat 86 times more than carbon dioxide. It also has a huge impact on global warming.

3. Health Concerns: Livestock can endanger the public in many ways. Here are a few:

   • Pollution: Materials like fertilizer and animal manure can contaminate water when it is taken to rivers by runoff. Because of this, the water has fecal bacteria from the cows.

   • Consumption of Meat: By eating meat, we are exposing ourselves to many health risks. Some of them include cardiovascular disease, cancer, and pathogens such as E. Coli.

   • Global Warming: "Some anticipate meat demand to double by 2020." Scientists say that if we don't control our consumption of meat, the global warming situation could worsen.