In a move that could leave vegans scratching their heads about the ethical necessity of their dietary choices, the US Food and Drug Administration has finally taken the step to provisionally approve cultivated meat.
The very sci-fi-esque prospect of meat without slaughter is now a firm reality soon to be available by Upside Foods to anyone feeling the right combination of hunger and curiosity. The company, formerly known as Memphis Meats, rebranded on May 12, 2021 giving it an appropriate astro signature: a New Moon in Taurus co-present with Uranus, ruled by Venus in tech-savvy Gemini, and in harmonious trine to Saturn and Jupiter in forward-thinking Aquarius.
Eventually, the average person will be able to purchase lab-grown meat to cook at home. But in the shorter term, those who are keen to sample such futuristic food will be able to do so at chef Dominique Crenn’s Michelin-starred restaurant Atelier Crenn. We don’t have a time of birth for Crenn but her pioneering Sun-Mercury-Venus stellium in Aries, ruled by Mars tightly conjunct Uranus-Pluto in Virgo, speaks to a fearless and ingenious innovator in her field, a perfect match for the new frontier of carnivorousness.
The Genesis of the FDA
To understand the role the FDA plays today we need a little historical context. The FDA was necessitated by less than savory (pun absolutely intended) developments in food and agriculture in the wake of the second industrial revolution. Greater efficiency in production and storage techniques like largescale canning made food sales and distribution possible where it wasn’t before. Sounds great in theory but there was also the less virtuous side so often apparent when it comes to human ingenuity. Innovation enabled business opportunities which, in the absence of oversight, produced a proliferation of corner-cutting in the interests of making a buck. Spices were used to disguise out-of-date ingredients, and if that sounds dodgy, it was even more of a Wild West situation with medications. Here deficits in legitimate healing efficacy were craftily disguised by the addition of generous quantities of morphine and cocaine the likes of which would be sure to make anyone feel ‘better’ (and arguably a repeat customer) at least for a little while. Ah, the good ‘ol days.
With no governmental regulation, there was no way to ensure people were actually buying what was advertised on the label. Not just that, but methods of production came under fire particularly in the wake of journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair’s explosive exposé on the stockyards: ‘The Jungle.” Very, very Virgo Sinclair made a scathing case for reform by bringing attention to alarming practices and working conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry after having immersed himself in the experience directly through a seven-week stint working there undercover. The novel catalyzed significant public outrage, specifically at the lack of hygiene standards, which prompted government action. Just four months after Sinclair’s publication, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Food and Drugs Act on June 30, 1906, and the FDA was born.
FDA Inception Chart
We can see in the chart for the FDA a tightly culminating full Moon in Sagittarius opposing a large stellium in Gemini with the lunation also applying closely to a square with Saturn in Pisces. Information and data (Gemini) as well as export, sales, and distribution (Sagittarius) are under the microscope, so to speak, while a watery Saturn stridently seeks to hold these Mercurial activities to account.
Apart from corrupted information jeopardizing the ethical and reliable provision of food at scale, another large part of the premise for the necessity of the FDA was the issue of contamination. A very Saturnian concern, the planet of illness and decay when placed in the sign of the Fishes raises issues of befouled water, poisons, or other biological pathogenic contaminants. Squaring the planets in Gemini-Sagittarius, the presence of such threats necessitates Saturn’s penchant for quality control and testing.
Furthermore, we see Saturn in a tight overcoming trine to Venus in Cancer. Restrictions or rules are established with a view to better nurture, care for, or safeguard the well-being of the populace. The security of the population’s fundamental sustenance needs is very Cancer-appropriate territory.
Inception Chart for FDA Approval of Lab-Grown Meat
Comparing the FDA’s inception with their decision to approve lab-grown meat we see a repeat of the Saturn square to the Sun, but this time the Moon is separating from an opposition and in a closing square after having just undergone an extraordinary eclipse conjunct Uranus in Taurus.
This chart seems to pay its dues to the Saturnian concerns of the FDA whilst also living out the promise of change demanded by Uranus in the earthy, feminine, agrarian sign of Taurus. We see the regulatory body recognize a new technology in the food space and so change is enacted.
It's fair to say, with the benefit of hindsight and a compelling symbolic narrative, that food standards have come a long way over the life of the FDA. From the problem of abysmal abattoirs to now recognizing the safety of man-made meat, it won’t be long until it is served up in mainstream Michelin-rated eating establishments.
Nobody could have quite predicted the evolution of one of our most basic sources of food, but, as ever, the stars provide remarkable testimony to the human experience through the language of archetypes that so effortlessly trace and reflect the human story.