Companies developing protein products from animal cells favor labeling their goods “cultivated,” a description opposed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation argues that terms such as “cultivated hamburger” and “cultivated chicken nuggets” captures its members’ methods.

The cattlemen’s association says its research shows consumers will confuse “cultivated” with “raised on a ranch.” It suggests “lab grown,” a term the startup industry dismisses as derogatory and inaccurate once companies gear up to commercial production.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service on Dec. 7 posted hundreds of comments on what to call meat or poultry made from “cultured animal cells,” a term used as a placeholder.

USDA solicited the comments to prepare for proposing regulations to inform consumers once the products hit the market.

Upside Foods, founded in 2015 as Memphis Meats, says there are more than 70 companies in the world developing cultivated protein.

Animal-rights and environmental groups have aligned with the emerging industry, urging regulators to not discourage consumers from trying the new protein source.

Meanwhile, farmers are defending their turf. The American Farm Bureau commented that it was “imperative” that labels include “cell based” or “cell cultured.”

The National Chicken Council and National Pork Producers Council also suggested some variation of “cell cultured” or “cell cultivated.”

Neither the cattlemen’s association nor the startup companies supported “cultured.” The cattlemen said the word suggested something for refined tastes. Upside Foods said dairy products already used “cultured.”

The two sides also opposed “synthetic.” The word implied an enhanced product, according to the cattlemen. The alliance for innovation said the word suggested products from imitation animal cells, not real ones.

The sides agreed that “clean” was poor because it implied competitors’ products were unclean.

Terms such as “fake meat,” “artificial meat” or “faux meat” are decried by the startup industry as terms intended to turn off consumers.

The cattlemen’s association said it supported “artificially grown” as an alternative, but said “lab grown” was an “unambiguous description of these products.”

The cattlemen’s association and the startup industry agree, based on separate consumer surveys, that “cultivated” is a fairly appetizing way to describe protein from animal cells.

The cattlemen’s association tried out six terms on consumers. While “cultivated” was the most appetizing, “cell-cultured meat” was the least appetizing, slightly less appealing than “in-vitro meat.”

The cattlemen’s association, however, says “cultivated” was the worst term at identifying where the meat was raised.

According to survey results sent to the USDA, 25% of the respondents thought “cultivated meat” was raised on a farm or ranch. Other terms were less confusing, though 13% thought “lab-grown meat” was raised on a farm or ranch.

The alliance for innovation counters that the new protein products will be made in facilities that do not resemble laboratories. The terms “lab-grown” or “lab-based” are “false, misleading and intended to be derogatory,” according to the alliance.

The alliance also argued that “cultivated” best reflects how products are made. According to to alliance, “‘Cultivator’ is a term many companies use to refer to bioreactors where cellular agriculture takes place.”