NEW YORK — If meat is grown in a lab without slaughtering animals, what should it be called?
That question has yet to be decided by regulators, but for the moment it’s pitting animal-rights advocates and others against cattle ranchers in a war of words.
Supporters of the emerging science are embracing the term “clean meat” to describe the process of meat grown by replicating animal cells. Many in the conventional meat industry are irritated by the term and want to stamp it out before it takes hold.
The spat shows the power of language as a new industry attempts to reshape eating habits.