Summer Revely
I don’t know about you, but I’m always swayed in restaurants or on my food shop by the marketing on meat products using phrases like “farm-raised” and “non-processed”. In fact, these are definitely big selling points to consumers. But what if that’s all about to change?
Following the path paved by Singapore, the USA and Israel, meat produced in a lab is expected to have a place on supermarket shelves in the UK within the next two years. While lab-grown meat has caused controversy across the globe, with Italy, and the US states of Alabama and Florida instilling bans on the products, overall, the UK’s stance seems to be in favour of them, the only reason we’re behind in the meat-making market is more robust safety regulations, slowing down the approval processes. However, in response to fears from UK synthetic meat leaders that they are losing out to competition overseas due to these tight regulations, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are putting initiatives in place to speed up the lab-to-market manufacturing processes, bringing the UK to the growing meat forefront, and giving us access to these foods very soon. But, would you eat lab-grown meat?
the reason nuggets and burgers were the first lab-grown meats is because it’s easier to replicate their appearance and texture from a cell solution than it would be to mimic a real-looking meat cut
I wonder if an explanation of how it’s made could be a deciding factor. Basically, cells need to be harvested from cows or chickens (all pain free) and are transferred to a big bioreactor. At an industrial scale, these machines are basically an enormous cylinder that maintains the perfect conditions for the animal cells to keep growing. Cells grow incredibly fast, into a large, liquid-y solution. This mixture is then moulded around an edible scaffold, either in burger or chicken nugget shape, ready to be sent to consumers.
Fun fact, the reason nuggets and burgers were the first lab-grown meats is because it’s easier to replicate their appearance and texture from a cell solution than it would be to mimic a real-looking meat cut, say a chicken breast or a steak. But don’t fear, biotechnology companies around the country have new products in the works, including Wagyu and Aberdeen Angus steaks, made from growing cells harvested from the respective cow types.
Experts say that consuming synthetic meat instead could reduce both by a promising 96%
You might wonder why lab-grown meat was ever even an idea that got to market. It’s not like we’re going to run out of cows any time soon. So, what are some of the perks? Well, currently, the production of meat for consumption is a costly process worldwide in terms of greenhouse gas release and water usage. Experts say that consuming synthetic meat instead could reduce both by a promising 96%, showcasing immediate environmental gains. Funds would also be saved on the need to house as many animals – cells are much, much smaller and easier to take care of. Another benefit is that synthesising meat in the lab allows scientists to positively manipulate the nutritional contents, meaning that these products will likely be better for you, if companies choose to take this approach.
Another interesting consideration is that researchers are debating over how to define synthetic meats, and it’s a matter for discussion of whether these foods really replicate what is taken straight from a farm to a plate. This is mainly sparked by the fact that they are made by growth of some cells from the animals, not by the animals themselves. Some groups believe that given the cells used in the products are technically no longer produced by the animals, once they’re scaled up post-harvest, that they are vegan. Would these inventions open up a new array of meat ‘substitutes’? I guess it’s a matter of personal preference. There’s also dispute surrounding whether they should be considered as ultra processed foods, which do tend to come with a lot of negative connotations. But I’d say that the vast majority of foods we see, other than fresh produce of course, comes from some sort of ‘lab’ if you really think about it.
Whatever these products actually are, you can expect to see these ‘lab-to-table’ options on supermarket shelves in the next couple of years. But will they appear on your plate?
Summer Revely
Featured image courtesy of Ivy Farm via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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