The Cultural and Environmental Implications of the Introduction of Cell-Cultured Salmon on Indigenous Communities in the Pacific Northwest
Faculty Mentor
Andrew Mitchel
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
4-14-2026 9:40 AM
End Date
4-14-2026 10:00 AM
Location
PUB 317
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Anthropology
Abstract
Discussions of cell-cultured meat center around its economic prospects, marketability, and viability as a meat replacement. These narratives frame cell-cultured meat as a revolutionary technology for combating the increasing stressors of the Anthropocene: climate change, global food insecurity, and animal exploitation in traditional industrial agriculture. However, these conversations are largely conducted through dominating Western lenses, prioritizing ownership over stewardship or interconnectedness perspectives and anthropocentricity over kincentricity. These widely ignore how the introduction of cellular meat fits into other cultures’ ecological values, and in the case of this study, Pacific North West(PNW) Indigenous Communities’ various cosmologies, traditional ecological knowledge, and food and data sovereignty. This research examines 1) how the introduction of cell-cultured salmon may impact PNW Indigenous Communities culturally and environmentally, and 2) how PNW Indigenous cosmologies of human-animal relationships, food values, and commensality may affect perspectives on cellular meat. I have identified four main themes of concern around the implementation of cell-cultured meat and explore them herein. This project localizes the topic of cell-cultured meat and its production to the Pacific Northwest Indigenous Communities and one of their primary culturally significant foods, Salmon.
Recommended Citation
Walsmith, Beck, "The Cultural and Environmental Implications of the Introduction of Cell-Cultured Salmon on Indigenous Communities in the Pacific Northwest" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 3.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/op_2026/o1_2026/3
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The Cultural and Environmental Implications of the Introduction of Cell-Cultured Salmon on Indigenous Communities in the Pacific Northwest
PUB 317
Discussions of cell-cultured meat center around its economic prospects, marketability, and viability as a meat replacement. These narratives frame cell-cultured meat as a revolutionary technology for combating the increasing stressors of the Anthropocene: climate change, global food insecurity, and animal exploitation in traditional industrial agriculture. However, these conversations are largely conducted through dominating Western lenses, prioritizing ownership over stewardship or interconnectedness perspectives and anthropocentricity over kincentricity. These widely ignore how the introduction of cellular meat fits into other cultures’ ecological values, and in the case of this study, Pacific North West(PNW) Indigenous Communities’ various cosmologies, traditional ecological knowledge, and food and data sovereignty. This research examines 1) how the introduction of cell-cultured salmon may impact PNW Indigenous Communities culturally and environmentally, and 2) how PNW Indigenous cosmologies of human-animal relationships, food values, and commensality may affect perspectives on cellular meat. I have identified four main themes of concern around the implementation of cell-cultured meat and explore them herein. This project localizes the topic of cell-cultured meat and its production to the Pacific Northwest Indigenous Communities and one of their primary culturally significant foods, Salmon.
