Abstract
Cultured meat is a promising product that is derived through biotechnology that partially circumvents animal physiology, thereby being potentially more sustainable, environmentally friendly and animal friendly than traditional livestock meat. Such a novel technology that can impact many consumers evokes ethical, philosophical and religious discussions. For the Islamic community, the crucial question is whether cultured meat is halal, meaning compliant with Islamic laws. Since the culturing of meat is a new discovery, invention and innovation by scientists that has never been discussed by classical jurists (fuqaha’), an ijtihad by contemporary jurists must look for and provide answers for every technology introduced, whether it comply the requirements of Islamic law or not. So, this article will discuss an Islamic perspective on cultured meat based on the original scripture in the Qur’an and interpretations by authoritative Islamic jurists. The halal status of cultured meat can be resolve through identifying the source cell and culture medium used in culturing the meat. The halal cultured meat can be obtained if the stem cell is extracted from a (Halal) slaughtered animal, and no blood or serum is used in the process. The impact of this innovation will give positive results in the environmental and sustain the livestock industry.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
A sacred state which a Muslim must enter in order to perform the major pilgrimage (Hajj) or the minor pilgrimage (c Umrah)..
Some Islamic scholars encourage for the meat to be cleansed three times. There is also an opinion that encourages the meat that has been mixed with uncleanliness to be thrown away as it is non-washable (Al-Nawawi, 1970; Al-Shirbini, 1997).
References
Abadi, M. A. (2005). Awn al-Ma‘bud ‘ala Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud. Beirut: Dar Ibn Hazm.
Abu Dawud, S. bin al-A. (1997). Sunan Abi Dawud. Beirut: Dar Ibn Hazm.
Al-‘Asqalani, A. I. H. (2001). Fath al-Bari. Riyad.
Al-‘Ayni, M. A. (1990). al-Binayah fi Sharh al-Hidayah. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
Al-‘Ayni, M. A. (2007). Minhah al-Suluk fi Sharh Tuhfah al-Muluk. Qatar: Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
Al-Ansari, Z. M. (1997). al-Ghurar al-Bahiyyah fi Sharh Manzumah al-Bahjah al-Wardiyyah. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Al-Baghawi, A.-H. M. (1990). Ma‘alim al-Tanzil. Riyad: Dar Tibah.
Al-Bayhaqi, A. al-H. (2003). Al-Sunan al-Kubra. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Al-Buhuti, M. Y. (2000). Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat Daqa’iq Uli al-Nahy li Sharh al-Muntaha. Beirut: Muassasah al-Risalah.
Aldous, P. (2006). Print me a heart and a set of arteries. In New Scientist (p. 19).
Al-Fawzan, S. F.’Abdullah. (1988). al-At“imah wa Ahkam al-Sayd wa al-Dhaba”ih. Riyad: Maktabah al-Ma‘arif.
Al-Jawhari, & Hammad, I. (1990). Al-Sihah Taj al-Lughah wa al-Sihah al-Arabiyyah. Cairo: Dar al-Ilm li al-Malayin.
Al-Juwayni, A. M. ‘Abdullah. (2007). Nihayah al-Matlab fi Dirayah al-Madhhab. Jeddah: Dar al-Minhaj.
Al-Kasani, A. B. M. (1986). Badai‘al-Sanai‘fi Tartib al-Sharai‘. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Al-Khattabi. (1997). Ma‘alim al-Sunan. Beirut: Dar Ibn Hazm.
Al-Mawardi, A. M. H. (1994). al-Hawi al-Kabir fi Fiqh Madhhab al-Imam al-Shafi‘i. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Al-Mubarakfuri, A. R. ‘Abdul R. (n.d.). Tuhfah al-Ahwadhi bi Sharh al-Jami ‘al-Tirmidhi. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
Al-Nawawi, M. S. (1970). Al-Majmu‘Sharh al-Muhadhdhab. Jeddah: Maktabah al-Irshad.
Al-Qarafi, I. S. A. (1994). Al-Dhakhirah. Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami.
Al-Qayrawani, A. A. R. (1999). al-Nawadir wa al-Ziyadat ‘ala ma fi al-Mudawwanah min Ghayriha min al-Ummahat. Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami.
Al-Qurtubi, A. U. (1996). al-Mufhim lima Ashkala min Talkhis Kitab Muslim. Damascus: Dar Ibn Kathir.
Al-Qurtubi, M. A. A. B. (2006). Al-Jami“li Ahkam al-Qur”an. Beirut: Muassasah al-Risalah.
Al-Rafi‘i, A. K. M. (1997). al-‘Aziz Sharh al-Wajiz al-Ma‘ruf bi al-Sharh al-Kabir. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Al-Sarakhsi, M. A. (1993). al-Mabsut. Beirut: Dar al-Ma‘rifah.
Al-Shafi’i, M. I. (2001). al-Umm. Mansurah: Dar al-Wafa’.
Al-Shawkani, M. A. (2006). Nayl al-Awtar min Asrar Muntaqa al-Akhbar. Dammam: Dar Ibn al-Jawzi.
Al-Shirbini, M. A. al-K. (1997). Mughni al-Muhtaj ila Ma‘rifah Alfaz al-Minhaj. Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifah.
Al-Tabari, M. J. Y. (2000). Jami“al-Bayan ‘an Ta’wil Ayi al-Qur”an. Beirut: Muassasah al-Risalah.
Al-Tirmidhi, M. I. S. (1996). Sunan al-Tirmidhi. Riyad: Maktabah al-Ma‘arif.
Al-Zayla‘i, U. A. (1897). Tabyin al-Haqa’iq Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq. Cairo: Matba‘ah al-Kubra al-Amiriyyah.
Anas, M. (1997). al-Muwatta’. Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami.
Beef, C. (2013). Burger tasting London. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cy2x2QR968.
Beer, E. (2014). Global halal market to hit 1.6tn USD by 2018. Retrieved October 7, http://www.foodnavigator.com/Regions/Middle-East/Global-Halalmarket-to-hit-1.6tn-by-2018.
Benjaminson, M. A., Gilchriest, J. A., & Lorenz, M. (2002). In vitro edible muscle protein production system (MPPS): Stage 1, fish. Acta Astronautica, 51(12), 879–889. doi:10.1016/S0094-5765(02)00033-4.
Bhat, Z. F., & Bhat, H. (2011). Animal-free meat biofabrication. American Journal of Food Technology, 6(6), 441–459. doi:10.3923/ajft.2011.441.459.
Bhat, Z. F., Bhat, H., & Pathak, V. (2014). Prospects for in vitro cultured meat—a future harvest. Principles of tissue engineering (Vol. 4). Amsterdam: Elsevier. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-398358-9.00079-3.
Bhat, Z. F., & Fayaz, H. (2011). Prospectus of cultured meat—advancing meat alternatives. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 48(2), 125–140. doi:10.1007/s13197-010-0198-7.
Bhat, Z. F., Kumar, S., & Fayaz, H. (2015). In vitro meat production: Challenges and benefits over conventional meat production. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 14(2), 241–248. doi:10.1016/S2095-3119(14)60887-X.
Carrel, A. (1937). The culture of whole organs: I. Technique of the culture of the thyroid gland. The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 65(4), 515–526. doi:10.1084/jem.65.4.515.
Churchill, W. S. (1932). Thoughts and Adventures. London: Thornton Butterworth.
Coghlan, A. (2011). Meat without slaughter. New Scientist, 211(2828), 8–9. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(11)62126-X.
Corson, W. H. (1994). Changing course: An outline of strategies for a sustainable future. Futures, 26(2), 206–223. doi:10.1016/0016-3287(94)90110-4.
Datar, I., & Betti, M. (2010). Possibilities for an in vitro meat production system. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, 11(1), 13–22. doi:10.1016/j.ifset.2009.10.007.
DeFoliart, G. R. (1992). Insects as human food. Crop Protection, 11(5), 395–399. doi:10.1016/0261-2194(92)90020-6.
Dennis, R. G., & Kosnik, P. E., II. (2000). Excitability and isometric contractile properties of mammalian skeletal muscle constructs engineered in vitro. Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology—Animal, 36(5), 327–335. doi:10.1290/1071-2690(2000)036<0327:EAICPO>2.0.CO;2.
Dodson, M. V, Martin, E. L., Brannon, M. A., Mathison, B. A., & McFarland, D. C. (1987). Optimization of bovine satellite cell-derived myotube formation in vitro. Tissue and Cell, 19(2), 159–66. Retrieved from, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3590147.
Dodson, M. V., McFarland, D. C., Martin, E. L., & Brannon, M. A. (1986). Isolation of satellite cells from ovine skeletal muscles. Journal of Tissue Culture Methods, 10(4), 233–237. doi:10.1007/BF01404483.
Edelman, P. D., McFarland, D. C., Mironov, V. A., & Matheny, J. G. (2005). Commentary: In vitro-cultured meat production. Tissue Engineering, 11(5–6), 659–662. doi:10.1089/ten.2005.11.659.
Eelen, V. (1998). Industrial scale production of meat from cell culture. Retrieved October 24, 2014, from http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/WO1999031222.
FAO. (2011). Livestock’s long shadows—environmental issues and options. Rome: FAO.
Fountain, H. (2013). A lab-grown burger gets a taste test. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/science/a-lab-grown-burger-gets-a-taste-test.html?_r=0.
Ghosh, P. (2013). World’s first lab-grown burger is eaten in London. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23576143.
Hanbal, A. M. (1995). Al-Musnad. (S. Al-Arna’ut, Ed.). Beirut: Muassasah al-Risalah.
Hill, C. (2001). Human population numbers as a function of food supply. Russell Hopfenberg 1* and David Pimentel 2, 3(919), 1–15.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, Y. A. M. (1993). al-Istidhkar. Beirut and Cairo: Dar Qutaybah and Dar al-Wa‘y.
Ibn’Atiyyah, M. A. H. G. (2001). Al-Muharrar al-Wajiz fi Tafsir al-Kitab al-‘Aziz. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Ibn Abidin. (1994). Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar Sharh Tanwir al-Absar. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Ibn Kathir, I. U. (1999). Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim. Riyad: Dar Tibah.
Ibn Majah, M. Y. (1998). Kitab al-Dhaba’ih, Bab Dhakah al-Janin Dhakah Ummihi. Sunan Ibn Majah. Dar al-Jil: Beirut.
Ibn Mazih, M. A. A. A. (2004). al-Muhit al-Burhani fi al-Fiqh al-Nu‘mani. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Ibn Nujaym, Z. (1997). al-Bahr al-Ra’iq Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
Ibn Qudamah, A. A. (1996). al-Sharh al-Kabir. Giza: Hajar li al-Tiba‘ah.
Ibn Qudamah, A. A. (1997). al-Mughni. Riyad: Dar ‘Alam al-Kutub.
Ibn Rusyd, M. A. (1988). al-Bayan wa al-Tahsil wa al-Sharh wa al-Tawjih wa al-Ta“lil fi Masa”il al-Mustakhrajah. Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami.
Jochems, C. E., Van der Valk, J. B., Stafleu, F. R., & Baumans, V. (2002). The use of fetal bovine serum: Ethical or scientific problem? ATLA Alternatives to Laboratory Animals, 30(2), 219–227.
Kuwait, W. M. (1986). al-Dhaba’ih. In al-Mawsu‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah (pp. 171–204). Dhat al-Salasil.
Langelaan, M. L. P., Boonen, K. J. M., Polak, R. B., Baaijens, F. P. T., Post, M. J., & van der Schaft, D. W. J. (2010). Meet the new meat: tissue engineered skeletal muscle. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 21(2), 59–66. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2009.11.001.
Larsson, S. C., & Wolk, A. (2006). Meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis of prospective studies. International Journal of Cancer, 119(11), 2657–2664. doi:10.1002/ijc.22170.
Lazennec, G., & Jorgensen, C. (2008). Concise review: adult multipotent stromal cells and cancer: Risk or benefit? Stem Cells (Dayton, Ohio), 26(6), 1387–94. http://doi.org/10.1634/stemcells.2007-1006.
Lu, S. (2012). Gabor forgacs: In vitro meat—it’s what’s for dinner! Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://blog.tedmed.com/?p=585.
Manzur, M. M., & ’Ali, I. (1993). Lisan al-’Arab. Beirut: Dar al-Sadir.
May, A. (2012). In vitro meat: Protein for twelve billion? University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Retrieved from http://otago.ourarchive.ac.nz/handle/10523/4101.
McFarland, D. C., Doumit, M. E., & Minshall, R. D. (1988). The turkey myogenic satellite cell: optimization of in vitro proliferation and differentiation. Tissue & Cell, 20(6), 899–908. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3245037.
Mironov, V., Boland, T., Trusk, T., Forgacs, G., & Markwald, R. R. (2003). Organ printing: computer-aided jet-based 3D tissue engineering. Trends in Biotechnology, 21(4), 157–161. doi:10.1016/S0167-7799(03)00033-7.
NASA. (1998). Small business innovative research (SBIR). Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/SBIR/abstracts/98/sbir/phase1/SBIR-98-1-09.05-6812.html.
Orzechowski, A. (2015). Artificial meat? Feasible approach based on the experience from cell culture studies. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 14(2), 217–221. doi:10.1016/S2095-3119(14)60882-0.
Post, M. J. (2012). Cultured meat from stem cells: Challenges and prospects. Meat Science, 92(3), 297–301. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2012.04.008.
Post, M. J. (2014). Cultured beef: Medical technology to produce food. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 94(6), 1039–1041. doi:10.1002/jsfa.6474.
Powell, R. L., Dodson, M. V., & Cloud, J. G. (1989). Cultivation and differentiation of satellite cells from skeletal muscle of the rainbow troutSalmo gairdneri. Journal of Experimental Zoology, 250(3), 333–338. doi:10.1002/jez.1402500314.
Russell, P. S., & Giner-Sorolla, R. (2011). Moral anger, but not moral disgust, responds to intentionality. Emotion, 11(2), 233–240. doi:10.1037/a0022598.
Schneider, Z. (2013). 50:3 In vitro meat: Space travel, cannibalism, and federal regulation|. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from http://www.houstonlawreview.org/2013/04/09/503-invitro-meat-space-travel-cannibalism-and-federal-regulation/.
Seale, P., & Rudnicki, M. A. (2000). A new look at the origin, function, and “stem-cell” status of muscle satellite cells. Developmental Biology, 218(2), 115–124. doi:10.1006/dbio.1999.9565.
Smith, F. E. (1930). The World in 2030 A.D.. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Song, Y., Manson, J. E., Buring, J. E., & Liu, S. (2004). A prospective study of red meat consumption and type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and elderly women: The women’s health study. Diabetes Care, 27(9), 2108–15. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15333470.
Specter, M. (2011). Test-tube Burgers. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/05/23/test-tube-burgers.
Tuomisto, H. L., & de Mattos, M. J. T. (2011). Environmental impacts of cultured meat production. Environmental Science and Technology, 45(14), 6117–6123. doi:10.1021/es200130u.
Tuomisto, H., & Roy, A. (2012). Could cultured meat reduce environmental impact of agriculture in Europe? 8th International Conference on LCA in …, (October), 2–4. Retrieved from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/255179690_Could_cultured_meat_reduce_environmental_impact_of_agriculture_in_Europe/file/504635200b0f43e488.pdf.
Vandenburgh, H., Del Tatto, M., Shansky, J., Lemaire, J., Chang, A., Payumo, F., et al. (1996). Tissue-engineered skeletal muscle organoids for reversible gene therapy. Human Gene Therapy, 7(17), 2195–2200. doi:10.1089/hum.1996.7.17-2195.
Wagers, A. J., & Weissman, I. L. (2004). Plasticity of adult stem cells. Cell, 116(5), 639–48. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15006347.
Weiss, F., & Leip, A. (2012). Greenhouse gas emissions from the EU livestock sector: A life cycle assessment carried out with the CAPRI model. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 149, 124–134. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2011.12.015.
WHO. (2014). Urban population growth. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://www.who.int/gho/urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/.
Wilschut, K. J., Jaksani, S., Van Den Dolder, J., Haagsman, H. P., & Roelen, B. A. J. (2008). Isolation and characterization of porcine adult muscle-derived progenitor cells. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 105(5), 1228–1239. doi:10.1002/jcb.21921.
Wilson, S. (2013). World population to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 new study predicts. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/10348822/World-population-to-reach-9.7-billion-by-2050-new-study-predicts.html.
Yablonka-Reuveni, Z., Quinn, L. S., & Nameroff, M. (1987). Isolation and clonal analysis of satellite cells from chicken pectoralis muscle. Developmental Biology, 119(1), 252–9. Retrieved from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=4128172&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract.
Zaraska, M. (2013). Lab-grown beef taste test: “Almost” like a burger. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/lab-grown-beef-taste-test-almost-like-a-burger/2013/08/05/921a5996-fdf4-11e2-96a8-d3b921c0924a_story.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hamdan, M.N., Post, M.J., Ramli, M.A. et al. Cultured Meat in Islamic Perspective. J Relig Health 57, 2193–2206 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0403-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0403-3