Now is time for Maine senators to support cultured-meat research 

To the Editor;

With coronavirus sweeping the globe, now is the time for U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins to support federal funding for cultured-meat research. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering animals. Besides the obvious benefits to nonhuman welfare, this emerging technology would help prevent pandemics.

We’re living through a worldwide crisis caused by a zoonotic virus known as COVID-19. In recent years, we’ve seen a number of diseases make the leap from animals to humans. You might know some of them as bird flu or swine flu. Cultured meat removes such risk from food production. We need federal funding to assist its development. This is too urgent to leave to the private sector.

Jon Hochschartner

Granby, Connecticut