Is Synthetic Meat the Future of Food?

[Gokul43201]

I had all but forgotten about this development since I first read about it a couple years ago. Ivan's thread on genetic engineering and robphy's post in the Age of Discovery thread reminded me of it.

"It would look," says Dr. Vladimir Mironov, a cell biologist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, "like a coffee machine. This is my dream."

Dr. Mironov was speculating about a meat synthesizer.

In vitro meat, also known as laboratory-grown meat or cultured meat, is animal flesh that has never been part of a complete, living animal. As of May 2003, some scientists are experimentally growing in vitro meat in laboratories, but no meat has been produced yet for public consumption. Potentially, any animal could be a source of cells for in vitro meat.

As with most experimental products manufactured on the laboratory scale, the current cost of in vitro meat is prohibitive, but industrial production would be much cheaper. For in vitro meat, costs only apply to the meat production, whereas for traditional meat, costs include animal raising and environmental protection (meaning there are less negative externalities associated with in vitro meat). However, it is not yet known whether in vitro meat is possible to be made economically competitive with traditional meat.

...

Meat essentially consists of animal muscle. There are, loosely, two approaches for production of in vitro meat; loose muscle cells and structured muscle, the latter one being vastly more challenging than the former. Muscles consist of muscle fibers, long cells with multiple nuclei. They don't proliferate by themselves, but arise when precursor cells fuse. Precursor cells can be embryonic stem cells or satellite cells, specialized stem cells in muscle tissue. Theoretically, they can be relatively simple to culture in a bioreactor and then later made to fuse. For the growth of real muscle however, the cells should grow "on the spot", which requires a perfusion system akin to a blood supply to deliver nutrients and oxygen close to the growing cells, as well as remove the waste products. In addition other cell types need to be grown like adipocytes, and chemical messengers should provide clues to the growing tissue about the structure. Lastly, muscle tissue needs to be trained to properly develop.

In theory, there are a number of advantages to synthetic meat, from the ability to make it healthier than natural meat to the prevention of inhumane treatment of animals (to say nothing of feeding baked beans to cows). The drawbacks are mostly economic and in addition, potentially aesthetic.

More articles/resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/jul/blinded
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/magazine/11ideas_section2-9.html?_r=1&oref=sloginFifty years hence we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium. - Churchill, 1932

So, (for meat eaters) would you seriously consider switching to synthetic meat if it became commercially available? Since it will likely cost much more than natural meat, at what price ratio might you consider a switch likely, if you do wish to switch?

If you are vegetarian for ethical reasons, would you be open to eating synthetic meat?

Other opinions on the issue...?

 

[Evo]

I would pay more for synthetic meat. Since prices for meat are steadily increasing due to costs to raise the animals, it might even be a wash in the not too distant future. I've been struggling with my craving for meat and my guilt over eating an animal, so finally I can pay for my sins.

Decreasing the impact of raising so many animals for meat would be an ecologically sound move. I can see this getting a LOT of opposition from meat companies, unless they have some control in the new synthetic meat market.

 

[berkeman]

I'm in as well. I don't eat that much meat anymore (low fat diet), but when I did eat more meat, I felt good that I was at least hunting for some of it. Does it taste like chicken?

 

[Evo]

Does it taste like chicken?

They should synthesize fish, with all of the over fishing, that would be another good area to work on.

Oh and some synthesized whale for Arildno.

 

[Gokul43201]

They should synthesize fish...

They've done it in the lab.

http://www.marsblog.net/archives/001572.html

Currently, small amounts of edible fish can be created in the lab. But University of Maryland doctoral student Jason Matheny says that this process could be adapted on an industrial scale -- whole factories producing fish sticks without the fish or chicken nuggets without the real birds.

"With a single cell, you could theoretically produce the world's annual meat supply," Matheny says. "And you could do it in a way that's better for the environment and human health. In the long run, this is a very feasible idea."

Lab-grown meats could be designed to be healthier too.

"For one thing, you could control the nutrients," Matheny says. "For example, most meats are high in the fatty acid Omega 6, which can cause high cholesterol and other health problems. With in vitro meat, you could replace that with Omega 3, which is a healthy fat."

Cultured meats would reduce the environmental burden that comes from raising livestock. Also, it wouldn't need to be treated with antibiotics and other drugs that are common in the industry.

 

[Evo]

Tuna without Mercury.

 

[turbo]

Tuna without Mercury.

Beef without Uranus.