AbstractThe radical criticism of animal husbandry currently taking place in the name of protecting animals and the planet is largely focused on meat. What are the reasons for this polarisation? What is meat? It is crucial to respond to these questions at a time when the reduction of the symbolic distance between humankind and ‘other animals’ is challenging representations of flesh, and when ‘cultured meat’ is taking root in people’s minds before it takes its place on supermarket shelves.