Lab Grown Meat
Note: This illustration was with an article source, it may or may not be
actual lab meat.
Not so fast with that beef under petri dish. Lab-grown meat may be DOA.
Healthy meat sources are a topic of interest in the world of organic foods, and over the years on the radio show Howard has described his interest in grass-fed beef and the potential for the restoration of damaged soils with well-managed herds given limited time on any particular piece of land. As with gardening in a way to keep the soil healthy, truly grass-fed animals (beef, lamb, pork) and free-range fowl, when moved around and not allowed to overgraze area, contribute to the health of the soil. There are a number of topics in TORC that address this activity. Much of the commercial meat production in the US is not managed in this way, and the fact of the environmental problems of feedlots may well be the reason for a period of interest in companies that were developing processes to produce lab-grown meat. This topic looks at that subject, starting with what may largely be the end of most of that project. (The Dirt Doctor does not think lab-grown meat is a good idea; this is informational only.)
In October of 2024 the British newspaper The Telegraph ran an article about the "misadventure" of lab-grown meat. Describing the process that "alternative protein companies" had gone through, and the great expense, the article discussed the high cost of producing it:
In reality, it never stood a chance. The economics were always stacked against meat bioreactors. The process requires pharmaceutical industry-level lab conditions, very expensive nutrients – which amount to about two thirds of the cost – specialised labour and long timescales. Optimistically, producers would be doing well to hit $63 (£48) per kilo wholesale as a break-even price, one study found. That made the output not remotely competitive with premium meat products.
The real bottom line, though, was that no one wanted to eat it:
"Even the test marketing has stopped, because nobody wanted the product – it’s just too weird. People are very reluctant to put a technology into their bodies," thinks Mr Mellentin.
"The only markets that it can aim for now are as a high-end product – almost as a novelty – on the coasts of the United States, and possibly Singapore and London."
The reasons for making meat in the lab dissipated as the reality of the cost and difficulties became clear. Instead of reducing CO2 emissions (from conventional livestock operations), projections were that it would increase CO2 by anywhere from four to 25 times as much as industrial-raised meat. The idea that a "more humane" method of creating protein couldn't compete against the "Frankenfood" image.
Some of the approaches to growing meat involved generating fibers and strands the mimic muscle. One group, as they tried to grow enough and with the right consistency, used a "scaffold material" of gelatin fibers to which
The team seeded the fibers with rabbit and cow muscle cells, which anchored to the gelatin and grew in long, thin structures, similar to real meat. The researchers used mechanical testing to compare the texture of their lab-grown meat to real rabbit, bacon, beef tenderloin, prosciutto, and other meat products.
Despite a similar texture, real meat has more mature fibers and fat and there isn't an edible gelatin scaffold to consider.
In another article discussing the safety of the product, a nutritionist noted that lab-grown meat:
may yield a decreased risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (which is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as when germs develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to destroy them), along with zoonotic diseases (infections that are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites that spread between animals and people).
There is, however, a possible downside:
there’s concern that lab-grown meat products may allow for the growth of cancerous cells or contamination by undesirable substances (such as bacteria or fungi) during production.
The same article discusses the possibility of manufacturers increasing the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, but the jury is out as to the healthfulness of that kind of fat. It would take this faux-meat out of any Keto diet, for example, where saturated fats and oils are considered most desirable.
It was just 18 months ago (June 21, 2023) that the New York Times ran an article about the USDA approving the production and sale of lab-grown meat, with two companies in California poised "to sell chicken produced from animal cells." At the time, the only other country to approve the sale of lab meat was Singapore. The outlook was rosy at the time, with projections of billions of dollars worth of meat by 2030. The product is described as:
Lab-grown meat begins with cells taken from an animal. Those cells are then fed water and salt and nutrients like amino acids, vitamins and minerals. The cells then multiply in large tanks called cultivators or bioreactors. When harvested, the product is essentially minced meat, which is then formed into patties, sausage or fillets. The meat contains no bones, feathers, beaks or hooves and does not need to be slaughtered.
An exception to the flagging interest in lab-grown meat in the Western world is the interest in the synthetic product in India. According to the author of a 2024 Open Access journal article about the Scope & Potential of Lab Grown Meat:
This cutting-edge method can produce meat that tastes like traditional chicken, beef, or fish without raising and slaughtering animals. I find it fascinating because it blends food technology with cellular agriculture to create sustainable food options for our future.
Even in India, or perhaps especially in India:
“There may also be cultural and social factors that will need to be addressed for this to be socially acceptable.” The project, which is the first government-sponsored initiative of its kind, is expected to produce its first lab-grown meat by 2025. . . . The increasing demand for plant-based protein products does present a challenge for the lab-grown meat industry in India. Both plant-based alternatives and lab-grown meat aim to provide sustainable and ethical alternatives to traditional animal-based products. However, plant-based protein products have gained more traction and market availability, with a wider range of options and lower costs compared to lab-grown meat, which is still in the early stages of development.
For a thorough discussion of the process, the Indian publication offers all of the steps. That publication is the source of the illustration of the steps involved.
Sources:
Harvard Gazette: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/10/lab-grown-meat-gains-muscle-as-it-moves-from-petri-dish-to-dinner-plate/
The Well at Northwell.edu: https://thewell.northwell.edu/culturally-relevant-stories/synthetic-meat-safety
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/us/lab-grown-meat-sale-approval.html
Pashudhan Praharee: https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/scope-potential-of-lab-grown-meat-or-cultured-or-synthethetic-meat/
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