The fate of most chickens is to become grilled chicken strips or nuggets, but Ian is not most chickens. In the photo above, people are reportedly eating Ian, while the chicken himself sits right next to them, unharmed.

Ian was raised by scientists at Eat Just, an organization seeking to redefine the future of food. Through extensive research and experimentation, the company has discovered a way to create plant-based proteins and clean meat using the cells of animals. In other words, they can use Ian’s cells to create meat, and Ian can keep on living.  

Until recently, the only cultured meat you could find was in the laboratory. But in December 2020, Singapore approved Eat Just’s products, allowing its lab-grown meat to be sold to the public.

“This is a historic moment in the food system,” Eat Just’s chief executive, Josh Tetrick, told the New York Times. “We’ve been eating meat for thousands of years, and every time we’ve eaten meat we’ve had to kill an animal — until now.”

Eat Just’s mission is to treat animals and livestock more humanely. But since livestock accounts for significant greenhouse gas emissions, its new meat may help manage the climate crisis as well.

And Ian? After the photo shoot, Ian was brought to an animal sanctuary in Northern California to live out the rest of his days. (We love happy endings.)

Note: This story was originally written in 2018 by Alyssa Carlson.

RELATED ARTICLES

Can a chicken nugget revolutionize eating?

With the rise of clean meat, good food becomes more inclusive

How to talk about factory farming so people listen

Cowspiracy: The film that launched a movement

BOOKS