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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 5, 2023 in a video: “A lot of your chain-food restaurants have been using (lab-grown meat) for years.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Food * Facebook Fact-checks * Instagram posts ![\\"Chef](\\" Chef Zach Tyndall prepares Good Meat\'s cultivated chicken at the Eat Just office in Alameda, Calif., on June 14, 2023. (AP) ![\\"Jeff](\\" By Jeff Cercone August 4, 2023 # Major U.S. fast-food chains are not selling lab-grown meat #### If Your Time is short * Lab-grown meat, or cell-cultivated meat, creates real meat from animal cells. Two companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods, in June received U.S. government approval to sell lab-grown chicken to consumers. * Each company has made the chicken available only at one restaurant, neither of which is part of a major fast-food chain. See the sources for this fact-check Lab-grown meat — cultivated from cells — has been cooking for a while, but the U.S. government only recently gave its approval to sell it in this country. Supporters say growing meat from cells, rather than slaughtering animals, is beneficial not only for animals but also for the environment. The lab-grown product has sparked numerous social media claims, including one that said several fast-food chains in the U.S. have long been serving it to unsuspecting customers. \"I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Lab-grown meat is here already,\" a woman said in a July 5 Instagram video. \"A lot of your chain- food restaurants have been using it for years — KFC, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Moe’s … like I even have to say, McDonald’s.\" This Instagram post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.) The video made several other unsupported claims, but for this fact-check, we’ll focus on the lab-grown meat served at U.S. fast-food chains. In the U.S., only two companies have been granted permission to sell lab-grown meat and neither sells its products to any of the chains mentioned in the Instagram video. Upside Foods and Good Meat each announced June 21 they had received final permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to offer cultivated chicken products to restaurants and grocery stores. Both companies began by putting it on the menu at restaurants owned by famous chefs. The U.S. is now the second country to allow cultivated meat to be sold to consumers. Good Meat has been selling its products in Singapore since 2020. Good Meat served its chicken to the U.S. general public for the first time July 31 at China Chilcano, a Washington, D.C.-based restaurant owned by chef José Andrés, who is on Good Meat’s board of directors. The chicken also was served there at two invitation-only dinners for VIP and media earlier in July. Diners can make reservations for a cultivated chicken tasting menu for $70 per person. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on July 11, 2024 in social media posts BBC News published a graphic quoting President Joe Biden saying, “Let me say this as clearly and simply as I can: [inaudible].” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • July 12, 2024 Carrie Kabat, spokesperson for Good Meat, called the claim that lab-cultivated meat is being sold at U.S. fast-food chains \"completely false.\" \"Up until this summer, Good Meat’s cultivated meat had only been available in the U.S. for private tastings at our headquarters in the Bay Area,\" Kabat said. \"Currently, the only place American consumers can order and enjoy our cultivated chicken is at China Chilcano.\" That is likely to change as the company scales-up commercial production, Kabat said, adding that it hopes to sell its chicken at more restaurants and eventually in stores. A team is also working on cultivated beef, but no timeline has been announced for its launch, she said. Upside Foods did not return our request for comment, but the company said June 27 on its social media channels that it made its first sale to Bar Crenn restaurant in San Francisco. It’s the first poultry sold at the restaurant since Chef Dominique Crenn made it a meat-free establishment in 2019, according to Food & Wine. Upside Foods said on its website that it has also made cultivated beef meatballs and duck, but chicken is its first product to market. It has not announced any other partnerships with restaurants on its website or social media channels. None of the fast-food chains’ menus mention lab-grown meat, though several offer plant-based options that mimic meat. That’s not the same as meat grown from animal cells. We contacted fast-food chains mentioned in the Instagram video to ask if they sell lab-grown meat, and these were the replies: * McDonald’s press team referred us to a company website explaining what’s in its burgers — nothing but 100% North American beef. * A Wendy’s spokesperson said the chain serves \"fresh, never-frozen, North American beef\" and that it sources its beef, pork, chicken, eggs and dairy from suppliers who meet quality, safety and animal welfare standards. * Meredith Krones, a spokesperson for KFC Global, said that in 2020, KFC Russia made an announcement about cell-cultured meat, but that it was a \"one-time experiment and not part of a long-term strategy.\" Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC, sold KFC Russia to Smart Service Ltd., a local operator, in April 2023, Krones said. Those restaurants will be rebranded as Rostik’s, according to a press release. Our ruling An Instagram post claimed that \"a lot of your chain-food restaurants\" have been selling lab-grown meat to customers for years. Only two companies have been approved in the U.S. to sell lab-grown, or cell- cultivated meat. Neither have sold the meat to fast-food chains. None of the chains mentioned in the post have said they are selling the products. We rate the claim False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Carrie Kabat, spokesperson for Good Meat, email exchange, Aug. 4, 2023 Good Meat, Good Meat Cultivated Chicken Tasting Menu Experience, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 Good Meat, Good Meat Gets Full Approval in the U.S. for Cultivated Meat, June 21, 2023 Good Meat, Instagram post, June 21, 2023 Upside Foods, Instagram post, June 21, 2023 UpsideFoods, Instagram post, June 27, 2023 Upside Foods, Meet the new meat, cultivated directly from real animal cells., accessed Aug. 4, 2023 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Human Food Made with Cultured Animal Cells Inventory, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 Food & Wine, Here\'s What the First Cell-Cultivated Chicken Dish on a US Menu Will Look Like,\" June 29, 2023 Scientific American, Lab-Grown Meat Approved for Sale: What You Need to Know, June 30, 2023 The Associated Press, US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation’s first ‘lab-grown’ meat, June 21, 2023 Meredith Krones, spokesperson for KFC Global, emailed statement, Aug. 4, 2023 Yum Brands, Yum! Brands Exit from Russia Complete, April 17, 2023 Russia Briefing, KFC To Trial 3D Bio-Printed Lab Grown Chicken Meat Nuggets In Russia, Sept. 4, 2020 KFC menu, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 KFC, KFC Beyond Fried Chicken FAQ, Jan. 5, 2022 McDonald’s communications department, email exchange, Aug. 3, 2023 McDonald’s, McPlant, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 McDonald’s, Wait, what’s really in McDonald’s burgers?, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 Wendy’s, U.S. menu, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 Moe’s Southwest Grill, menu, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 Taco Bell, menu, accessed Aug. 4, 2023 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Jeff Cercone ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 5, 2024 in an X post: Tim Walz “changed the Minnesota flag so it could resemble the Somalian flag.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 6, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Laura Loomer stated on July 31, 2024 in an X post: “Nowhere on her birth certificate does it say that she is BLACK OR AFRICAN. … Kamala Harris is NOT black and never has been.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 6, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 1, 2024 in an Instagram post: Olympic air pistol shooting medalist took up the sport during his divorce and told his ex-wife from the podium, “I want my dog back.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • August 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on July 26, 2024 in a TikTok video: \"Mike Pence endorsed Kamala Harris.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • July 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on July 24, 2024 in in social media posts: ABC News reporter said “government tried to kill” former President Donald Trump. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • July 26, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 25, 2024 in X posts: Videos show Jill Biden alone in Paris and at White House with Joe Biden at the same time. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • July 25, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 21, 2024 in una publicación en X: \"Kamala Harris no es elegible para postularse para la presidencia. 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A lot of your chainfood restaurants have been using labgrown meat for years