As the U.S. Department of Agriculture mandates testing of milk for bird flu, our political leaders should support increased public funding for cultivated-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultivated meat is grown from livestock cells, without slaughter. Widespread adoption of the new protein would greatly reduce the risk of zoonotic pandemics, since animals are removed from the process.

Though cultivated meat has already gained regulatory approval in this country, it remains too expensive to mass produce. More public money for cellular-agriculture development will help bring these costs down, allowing the product to truly enter the market. Politicians who care about public health, specifically about preventing future virus outbreaks, should support this governmental investment.

Jon Hochschartner

Granby, Connecticut