--- title: "KFC Is Working on 3D Printed, Lab-Grown Chicken Nuggets" description: "With help from a Russian 3D printing startup, American fast food chain KFC wants to craft the \"world's first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets.\"" date: "2020-07-20" modified: "2020-07-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/kfc-3d-printed-chicken-nuggets" categories: - "3D Printing" - "Future Materials" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "chickens" - "KFC" - "lab grown chicken meat" - "the digest" --- # KFC Is Working on 3D Printed, Lab-Grown Chicken Nuggets ![With help from a Russian 3D printing startup, American fast food chain KFC wants to craft the "world's first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets."]() *\Image: KFC\* ## Lab Nuggets American fast food chain KFC wants to craft the "world's first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets," according to a [press release]() — and no, they won't technically be vegetarian, because they'll include actual chicken cells. To create this "meat of the future," the chain is working with Russian startup 3D Bioprinting Solutions to use "chicken cells and plant material" to print nuggets layer by layer. KFC claims the approach is more ethical and environmentally sound, as it reduces the need for farming animals. ## No Harm According to the company, "the production process does not cause any harm to animals." "3D bioprinting technologies, initially widely recognized in medicine, are nowadays gaining popularity in producing foods such as meat," Yusef Khesuani, co-founder of 3D Bioprinting Solutions, said in the KFC statement. The fried chicken giant has yet to actually feed anybody its futuristic nuggets, but the Russian startup is already hoping that the trend will catch on. "In the future, the rapid development of such technologies will allow us to make 3D-printed meat products more accessible and we are hoping that the technology created as a result of our cooperation with KFC will help accelerate the launch of cell-based meat products on the market," the statement reads. ## Slow Food Scientists who have experimented with similar bioprinting processes have found them to be extremely slow and laborious, [*The Verge* reports](). Despite the hurdles, though, KFC wants to go ahead and make its Frankenstein nuggets available for final testing in Moscow later this year. **READ MORE:** [KFC is working with a Russian 3D bioprinting firm to try to make lab-produced chicken nuggets]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on lab meat:** [*Lab-Grown Meat Could Be Worse for the Environment*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()