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Letter: Comparing artificial apples and pears

Published 1 October 2025

From Michaella Pettit, Zurich, Switzerland

Sophie Attwood’s comment piece questioned why people resist fake meat but embrace synthetic bodily enhancements. Two points struck me. First, Botox has been around for decades longer than artificial meat. Comparing public attitudes without accounting for the time each technology has had to become familiar feels misleading. It would be fairer to compare reactions at similar points in time after their invention(30 August, p 19).

Second, encouraging people to adopt lab-grown meat without caution seems premature. Emerging research on the negative health effects of ultra-processed foods suggests we should fully understand their potential impacts before urging widespread consumption. Blind enthusiasm risks overlooking important safety and nutritional questions.

Issue no. 3563 published 4 October 2025

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