Winston Churchill stated long back in 1932 that after fifty years, that man wouldn’t bother to grow a full chicken for meat and rather grow meat in a suitable medium. It’s more than fifty years now, but the wait won’t be long for in-vitro meat to reach the market. Things would speed up with PETA’s offering of $1 million to the first scientist who would release in-vitro meat in the market. PETA has been supporting the in-vitro meat research as there is a whole lot of harm being caused to animals and the environment to meet the meat addiction of people. Meat eaters are also concerned over the several diseases like heart diseases and diabetes that are increasingly affecting meat eaters. Contaminated meat has been reported to have caused several deaths in United States. Grazing has led to the insufficient utilization of croplands and has led to the depletion of resources. Excessive carbon di oxide, nitrogen, and other emissions into the environment have also led to concerns over the increased livestock and the need for in-vitro meat was recognized.
In-vitro meat has been devised as the best alternative to keep away from all the ill-effects of animal farming for meat. This is also known as cultured meat as meat is produced through tissue culture technique. In-vitro meat is not the same as the imitation meat for vegans which have been produced from vegetable proteins. The starting material for in-vitro meat is the stem cells derived from waste matter in slaughter houses. These stem cells are grown in a concoction of sugar, amino acids, lips and minerals. This has led to the growth of thin muscle like strips, the first precursors of in-vitro meat. Around 3000 of these strips has to be packed together and arranged with a few strips of lab-grown fat and the new product thus formed will be able to replace the conventional animal meat.
Due to the several steps involved in the production of in-vitro meat, the product is expected to be rather expensive when it reaches the market. The research are still going on and the first in-vitro meat will be grown with intensive care over looked upon by highly qualified academic staff in an academic laboratory. The process is partly handmade and requires enough of manual work done over in-vitro meat and therefore will be expensive. The scientists have also informed that the first productions will be a little awkward at sight as they will seem color due to lack of blood involved.
The issues faced by the world due to the increased demand for meat, was that what bought the attention of scientists to produce in-vitro meat. The destruction caused to the agricultural land and land wastage to feed the livestock is very high and will tend to increase ina tremendous rate in the coming years. This has been contributing in a great way to energy loss, land wastage, global warming, air pollution and decline of biodiversity. By replacing livestock meat with in-vitro meat, the damage that is being caused to the environment can be greatly reduced.
Mark Post is the man and the brain behind this artificial in-vitro meat production and plans to present the world the first man-made meat by August or September. He is a vascular biologist in the Netherlands University of Maastricht and is funded by an anonymous person. There are several people who have tested the in-vitro meat and have not been rather impressed with its taste when compared to livestock meat. Efforts are being made to add to the taste of this in-vitro meat by supplementing the lab-grown meat with the right amount and good quality artificial fat and a little of lab prepared blood rich in iron. Scientists believe that this can complement to the taste and look of the meat and soon can be made into tasty burgers and nuggets.
