Vat-grown meat could be a boon for humanity, providing high-quality protein to a growing population while addressing the environmental and animal welfare issues that accompany conventional meat production.
Today, word came out of the Netherlands that researchers have grown artificial meat for the first time. The technology has made great strides, but has a long way to go unless you like the texture of “soggy pork.” Since meat is muscle (or, rather, muscle interspersed with fat) it naturally has a fairly firm texture. People pay a good deal of money for the best cuts of meat, which are relatively tender, compared with cheaper cuts that tend to be tough and chewy. It sounds like the vat-grown meat is essentially atrophied muscle, which isn’t all that appealing.
Mark Post, professor of physiology at Eindhoven University, told The Sunday Times: “What we have at the moment is rather like wasted muscle tissue. We need to find ways of improving it by training it and stretching it, but we will get there.
“This product will be good for the environment and will reduce animal suffering. If it feels and tastes like meat, people will buy it.
“You could take the meat from one animal and create the volume of meat previously provided by a million animals.”
The scientists extracted cells from the muscle of a live pig and then put them in a broth of other animal products. The cells then multiplied and created muscle tissue. They believe that it can be turned into something like steak if they can find a way to artificially “exercise” the muscle.
Earlier this month, h+ Magazine had an in-depth article on how in-vitro meat will “change our lives.”