The article explores the current state of lab-grown meat, focusing on Mission Barns, a company that has received USDA approval for its cultivated pork fat. The author visits the company's facility, where they learn about the cultivation process using cells from a pig named Dawn, and taste the company's meat products. Despite the technology being advanced, the author finds the taste and texture unremarkable, describing it as 'blandly inoffensive' and triggering a 'Knowing' effect - a discomfort stemming from awareness of the artificial production process. The article discusses the challenges facing the industry, including high costs, slow progress toward profitability, and public skepticism, particularly in the context of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-processed food stance. Market research shows only 18% of Americans find cell-cultivated meat appealing, with interest decreasing with age. The industry is pivoting from retail to wholesale, developing products that combine plant protein with conventional pork fat, with the goal of eventually replacing it with cultivated fat. The article also touches on the broader context of food technology, comparing cultivated meat to other engineered foods like sumo oranges, which were created through crossbreeding to improve flavor and marketability. The author concludes that the era of cultivated meat as a climate solution has passed, and the industry is now focusing on more modest roles in the food system, with some companies creating 'Frankenmeat' products as exclusive novelties rather than mainstream alternatives.

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