To the editor,

While pandemics have receded from public discourse, their potential threat very much remains. 

Animal agriculture in general, and factory farming in particular, drastically increases the risk of zoonotic viruses making the jump to humans. 

Politicians interested in advancing public health should support government funding for cultivated-meat research. 

For those who don’t know, cultivated meat is grown from livestock cells, without raising and slaughtering animals.

The new protein is identical to slaughtered meat at a cellular level, however the need for sick livestock to come in contact with human workers is eliminated. 

Widespread adoption of cultivated meat would significantly reduce the threat of pandemics. 

While there are technological hurdles to mass production, these can be overcome with public investment in cellular-agriculture development. 

Government leaders should back this effort to create a safer, healthier world.

Jon Hochschartner lives in Granby, Connecticut.