What if you could eat meat without killing the animal and, at the same time, help reduce the use of energy by as much as 45%, reduce the use of land by 99%, and produce up to 96% fewer greenhouse gases? The opportunity to do so is at hand. Welcome to the reality of lab-grown meat.
Kentucky Fried Chicken is working with a Russian 3D bioprinting company to create lab-produced chicken nuggets. KFC announced its “meat of the future concept” and plans to have a product ready to test by the end of this year.
The idea of crafting the meat of the future arose among partners in response to the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, the annual increase in demand for alternatives to traditional meat and the need to develop more environmentally friendly methods of food production.
Yusef Khesuani, co-founder of 3D Bioprinting Solutions said: “3D bioprinting technologies, initially widely recognized in medicine, are nowadays gaining popularity in producing foods such as meat.”
KFC issued this statement: “According to a study by the American Environmental Science & Technology Journal, the technology of growing meat from cells has minimal negative impact on the environment, allowing energy consumption to be cut by more than half, greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced 25 fold and 100 times less land to be used than traditional farm-based meat production.”
(Charlotte Edwards. “KFC using ‘animal flesh cells’ to 3D-print chicken meat at Russian labThe Sun. News Group Newspapers Limited July 20, 2020.)
KFC is not alone in the effort to produce 3D bioprint meat. Several start-ups are developing lab-grown beef, pork, poultry and seafood – among them Mosa Meat, Memphis Meats, SuperMeat and Finless Foods. And the field is attracting millions in funding. In 2017, for instance, Memphis Meats took in $17 million from sources that included Bill Gates and agricultural company Cargill.
(G. Owen Schaefer. “Lab-Grown Meat.” Scientific American. September 14, 2018.)
The venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, has participated in Future Meat’s seed and Series A funding rounds. Tyson, the largest U.S. meat producer, has been investing in start-ups focused on plant-based and cultured meat. It exited Beyond ahead of its blockbuster public market debut and holds a stake in Memphis Meats, a U.S.-based competitor to Future Meat.
“We value their belief in Future Meat,” Future Meat CEO Rom Kshuk said. “We value the work that we’re doing together. Obviously, they’re bringing validation to a young company.”
(Amelia Lucas. “Lab-grown meat start-up raises $14 million to build production plant.” CNBC. October 10, 2019.)
Cultured meat, produced in bioreactors without the slaughter of an animal has been hailed as a landmark moment across the meat industry. This technology could open the door to a future when all meat is produced without the killing of livestock.
Dozens of firms are developing cultivated chicken, beef and pork, with a view to slashing the impact of industrial livestock production on the climate and nature crises, as well as providing cleaner, drug-free and cruelty-free meat. Currently, about 130 million chickens are slaughtered every day for meat, and 4 million pigs. By weight, 60% of the mammals on earth are livestock, 36% are humans and only 4% are wild.
The companies developing lab-grown meat believe this is the product most likely to wean committed meat-eaters off traditional sources. Meat cultivated in bioreactors also avoids the issues of bacterial contamination from animal waste and the overuse of antibiotics and hormones in animals.
A recent report form the global consultancy AT Kearney predicted that most meat in 2040 would not come from dead animals. The firm’s Carsten Gerhardt said: “Approval in an innovation hotspot like Singapore already in 2020 could fast-forward market entry in other developed nations. In the long run we are convinced that cultured meat will address the health and environmental impact issues that traditional meat has when produced in a highly industrialised way.”
(Damian Carrington. “No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time.” The Guardian. December 01,2020.)
The meat is made by first taking a muscle sample from an animal. Technicians collect stem cells from the tissue, multiply them dramatically and allow them to differentiate into primitive fibers that then bulk up to form muscle tissue. Mosa Meat says that one tissue sample from a cow can yield enough muscle tissue to make 80,000 quarter-pounders.
Barriers to being commercially viable?
Cost and Taste. In 2013, when a burger made from lab-grown meat was presented to journalists, the patty cost more than $300,000 to produce and was overly dry (from too little fat). Expenses have since fallen. Memphis Meats reported in 2018 that a quarter-pound of its ground beef costs about $600. Given this trend, clean meat could become competitive with traditional meat within several years. Careful attention to texture and judicious supplementing with other ingredients could address taste concerns.
(G. Owen Schaefer. “Lab-Grown Meat.” Scientific American. September 14, 2018.)
The next step in getting its products to market will require switching from pharmaceutical-grade bioreactors to food-grade versions, Future Meat CEO Rom Kshuk said. By 2022, Future Meat plans to launch a second line of entirely lab-grown meat that will cost less than $10 per pound.
(Amelia Lucas. “Lab-grown meat start-up raises $14 million to build production plant.” CNBC. October 10, 2019.)
Those behind Memphis Meats believe they're part of something even larger. Already, so-called cellular agriculture produces everything from leather and vaccines to perfume and building materials. Within a few years, proponents say, it could eliminate organ donation, oil drilling, and logging. The possibilities are as broad as life itself.
"Human civilization was largely enabled by the domestication of livestock," says Nicholas Genovese, Memphis Meats' co-founder. "If we can master producing meat without livestock, it's really going to be the second domestication."
Memphis Meats says, “We’re committed to producing the best meat in the purest way possible.”
“Our process is ‘essential’ because it focuses on efficiency, simplicity, and quality while eliminating any unnecessary steps. We don’t need to raise and process animals or use massive amounts of land and water. We make meat in the purest sense of the word: simple ingredients, clean conditions, minimal impact.”
– “Essential Nutrition,” Memphis Meats, 2020
Consider the future with this “essential” step:
Zero Animal Cruelty
Less saturated fat means people will live longer
Less antibiotic resistance could save people's lives
No growth hormones
No bacterial contamination
It will eventually be cheaper than conventional meat
Global hunger could be reduced
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