Meat cultivated from cells — with no need to raise and slaughter an animal — is starting to show up in restaurants around the world. But can it be made cheaply enough to displace animal agriculture?

Some entrepreneurs, consumers and experts expect a lot more of the world’s meat to be made this way in the future. Companies making so-called “cultivated,” or “cultured” meat, which is also popularly known as “lab-grown” meat, are trying to scale up quickly — partnering with traditional meat companies, drawing more and more investors and breaking ground on new production facilities in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Wide adoption of meat from cells is nowhere near assured, however. This meat is expensive to make. There are scientific challenges, such as learning how to mimic the complex structure of steak. Government regulation is another obstacle. Only Singapore and the U.S. allow sales of cultivated meat.

And while many people who have tried it say they like it, others find the idea distasteful.

The hope is that cultivated meat can someday reduce the impact of animal agricultural on the environment. Start-ups have succeeded in making meat. Now they are working to increase scale, lower prices and improve recipes.

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