Vegetarians have long been familiar with meat substitutes —
including “meat” patties made from soy or “crispy chicken” that is actually
plant protein techwadia. But if you’re a carnivore, a steak is a steak, and it comes from
a cow. Or does it?
These days, advancements in technology aren’t limited to
just your smartphone or appliances. Food technology is a growing business,
meaning lab-grown meat could be headed to your plate soon.
According to a December 2020 Bloomberg report, lab meat is
getting closer to hitting supermarket shelves. But is lab-grown meat bad for
you, and what does lab grown meat taste like.
Let’s dig in to these questions, as well as the potential
pros and cons of the rise of artificial meat.
What Is Lab-Grown Meat?
Traditionally, getting meat means breeding an animal,
sending it to slaughter and then packaging up the meat to sell. So what is
lab-grown meat made of?
Instead of raising live animals for their meat, to make
artificial meat (also known as “slaughter-free meat,” “clean meat” or “cultured
meat”), stem cells from an animal’s muscle tissue — known as a donor animal —
are combined with a serum. The serum is usually derived from the fetuses of
dead cows.
The cells are fed sugar and salts, tricking them into
thinking they’re still in an animal — this way they grow.
Over time, the muscle stem cells begin transforming as they
strengthen, expand and mature into muscle fibers. Eventually, when enough of
these fibers combine, you have a piece of meat.
Fat tissue may then be added to give the meat a flavor more
consistent with traditional meat. Then, it’s hello dinner.
Can vegetarians eat lab-grown meat? Because lab-grown meat
still requires animal products, it’s not considered vegan or
vegetarian-friendly.
For the time being, plant-based eaters still have to opt for
soy, tofu and other meat substitutes.
Potential Benefits
One of the biggest benefits that people who work in food
technology see about the prospects of lab-grown meat is that it’s better for
the environment.
Here are some of the positive environmental impacts that
artificial meat may have:
• Results
in fewer slaughtered animals — There’d be less need to raise cows if lab meat
became more popular, which could potentially cut back on greenhouse emissions.
• Less land
and water usage — This would likely follow since fewer cows would need to be
raised, and they’d require less food.
• More
people can have access to meat — As the world’s population continues growing,
farming enough animals to feed meat eaters will take its toll on the planet.
Lab meat can be one option for feeding more people animal protein without
depleting as many resources. Even today, only about 5 percent of Americans are
vegetarian, so there’s big demand for meat. Lab-grown meat, advocates say, provides
a solution to the meat scarcity problem and is better for the plant overall.
Potential Dangers and Concerns
There are several key issues regarding the production of
artificial meat:
1. Because
lab-grown meat is in its infancy, it’s too early to say if the environmental
advantages will definitely pan out.
2. It’s very
expensive to produce.
3. The taste
is not necessarily appealing to everyone.
4. It’s
still up for debate how it should be labeled and advertised to consumers.
5. It’s not
entirely known how healthy is it and how the nutritional content compares real
beef and meat.
1. High Energy Usage
One issue is that energy usage to produce fake meat would
likely skyrocket, as you’d have massive facilities that would require
electricity 24/7. A large-scale study, where the entire life cycle of producing
meat traditionally versus in a lab, would need to be done to measure the true
effects.
As of December 2020, at least eight companies are building
or operating pilot sites in hopes of upgrading from small-scale output to more
energy-efficient and cost-effective full industrial output. This is expected to
happen near the end of 2022, at the earliest, as there are still challenges
related to production and cost to overcome.
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