Technology

Yum Brands partners with Russian company on lab-grown KFC nuggets

Image: iStock

July 20, 2020

Yum Brands said it hopes to launch and sell lab-produced chicken nuggets through KFC as part of its "restaurant of the future," according to news release made available to Yahoo News.

Yum Brands said it has partnered with 3D Bioprinting Solutions research laboratory in Russia on the initiative, with a goal of increased demand for sustainable products and meat alternatives to traditionally derived meats. The Russian company uses 3D printing tech to create the chicken, which in labs is typically grown from an animal's cells.

"The technology of growing meat from cells has minimal negative impact on the environment, allowing energy consumption to be cut by more than half, greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced 25 fold and 100 times less land to be used than traditional farm-based meat production," KFC told Yahoo News, citing information from a study by the American Environmental Science and Technology Journal,

KFC did not say when the lab-grown meat would be available in restaurant or amount of their investment in the venture. If and when the lab-produced product does become available at the chain, it will not be a vegan or vegetarian option since the products are initially derived from live animal cells.