Imagine a day when hamburgers will be grown from stem cells in a factory capable of providing whole meat settlement. Such a future is not far off, experts say.
The technology needed to grow meat in the laboratory is already exists and she offers production methods that environmentally cleaner and more ethical than currently used. If people will accept the very concept of eating meat grown in laboratories, then the biggest problems will remain in the economic sphere, Danish sociologists are sure.
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“As vast regions of the world become richer, it’s expected that world meat consumption over the next decades significantly increase, – scientists write in their work. – So Thus, we believe that meat is promising addition to a number of alternative protein sources. ”
The existing meat production method is environmentally unsafe, authors say.
It consumes a lot of energy and pollutes the environment, and also causes animal suffering. Although there are vegetable protein sources, most people continue to prefer meat. And you can expect that global meat consumption will only increase, as many people in developing countries are moving into the middle class, experts are sure.
Laboratory burgers
From a technological point of view, grow meat in the laboratory perhaps. Scientists have developed technology to create artificial organs from stem cells, and for meat similar methods.
As a proof of concept, Danish researcher Mark Fasting in 2013 raised the first hamburger in the laboratory using stem cells from skeletal muscle of a cow.
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In a new work, the authors outlined a possible method of meat production in the laboratory. Biopsy cells of a living organism grown in nutrient-rich solution inside bioreactor. Then the cells from this drive can be transferred to all large containers until they eventually become like minced meat patty.
But the fact that meat can be grown in a laboratory is not means that people will eat it.
Unexpected factor
“Most people initially find the idea of growing meat surprising “, – the authors write. In the Netherlands, the majority of respondents reacted with amazement, mainly because of the possible consequences for animals. However, some were disgusted by associations with hot dogs and genetically modified foods.
The reaction to Mark Post’s burger presentation indicates what many people think lab-grown meat a promising alternative to conventional manufacturing methods. Some are afraid that the new meat is some kind of “unnatural” or “technological”, but these feelings are balanced by similar concerns about industrial agricultural systems, scientists say. The cost of grown meat may be unprofitable.
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“Everything indicates that on a conscious level, many are ready accept it, says Mark Post, a genetic engineer at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. – Meat is available right now, and it’s cheap. The only problem we may face is this is the well-being of animals, as well as the vague feeling that there are meat production practices that we cannot close eyes. If this changes, possible alternatives will become more attractive. ”
Today the greatest difficulty in growing meat in the laboratory may become the cost of this process.
Economic barriers
The authors made rough calculations comparing the cost of laboratory and traditional meat production. Critical factor in determining prices of grown meat is, apparently, the medium for cell cultivation.
In the Netherlands, minced meat costs a little more than 5 euros per kilogram, while time as a kilogram of meat grown in a normal nutrient medium, costs 391 euros. Using the cheapest culture medium and counting only on it, you can reduce the cost to 8 euros per kilo.
But the cost of artificial meat may decline, consider some experts.
“As usual, what happens on the market, after improving the technology, either improving existing methods, or developing new ones, you can take care of profitability, ”says a specialist in issues of biological ethics Patrick Hopkins. – Given the growing existing population and land use demand a laboratory method of growing meat economically disadvantageous. ”
Netherlands time
