Scientists grow artificial meat

In my work at the Bassetti Foundation I have written extensively about food, its production and how technology has entered and continues to encroach on everyday provisioning.

I wrote an article about how milk from cloned cows entered the food chain last year, and then how some cloned cows went missing in Scotland, probably ending up at the butcher’s shop and on to somebody’s table, but this week I let you in to a story that goes much further.

A very fat cow

A fat cow

Scientists in Holland have managed to grow meat from stem cells and later this year aim to have enough to make a hamburger. I don’t know if they plan to eat it though, it will cost about $300 000 to produce. Although this sounds abhorrent as well as quite expensive, they have good reason to try it. Many experts believe that current food provisioning techniques are non sustainable. As the population grows more people require more food, but leave less land to use in its production, and this presents one problem. The second issue is that large scale meat production is one of the biggest carbon producing industries on the planet.

Meat production is also physically very damaging for the environment, there have been many articles written about beef production in Argentina and Brazil causing problems for the rainforests. Meat production is also inefficient. In order to produce meat (for example beef again) you need to feed up a cow, and cows eat a lot. The protein gained from the cow is equal to 15% of the protein it eats, so you have to feed a herd of cows 100 tons of protein for every 15 tons produced.

So could this new type of production help feed the planet? It will certainly have to overcome a few hurdles, production price will have to come down obviously and I imagine protests and general dislike of the idea, but OGM is everywhere nowadays (unmarked in the US I believe) and you can get used to anything if you try. The point is that it can be done, the technology exists and once done on mass it will be done cheaply.

If you are interested in learning more take a look at the article on the BBC website, my interview with Prof Andrew McMeekin of the University of Manchester Business School on the subject of food provisioning and my other meanderings on the Bassetti Foundation website.

14 thoughts on “Scientists grow artificial meat

  1. Christopher (admin team)

    Artificial/GM food is very big money, but the thing is, I am not sure that we have done enough tests (or ever will have) to prove that it is safe for human consumption.

    I like the idea of selective breading to improve yields, but actually editing DNA is a bit risky in my view. In order to feed a growing global population though, I suppose we will need to use this technology on a mass scale at some point :-/

    A good article Jonny, thank you and bravo!

    • Money is the driver I agree with you, and there is certainly big money in producing meat. the problem with testing is that you need years to test out the effects that these new technolgies might have on the environment, and nobody is going to wait.

  2. I don’t know why, but I’m still not ready to say that I could try that meat… there is a strong business plan and interests there, because you are talking about lot of money, a huge investment in this technology

      • Christopher (admin team)

        Oh I think many people will Jonny. I reckon there are a lot of people who don’t really think, or care what they eat is. If it is nutritious and tasty, why bother finding out? Well because it could be GM! But not everyone thinks like that…

        Can I congratulate you Jonny. Your articles seem to be the ones attracting the most attention and comments at the moment, so well done and thank you 🙂

  3. I love the fact that the fake burger will cost $300,000 to “create”. I mean, who’s going to test it to see if it tastes nice. I wouldn’t won’t to eat something that cost $300,000! Also, if it doesn’t taste nice who would have the courage to say so!!!
    So, if the meat was grown, does it mean vegetarians would gladly eat it? It’s not as if anything died making it, or did it?!

    • They say it might be a bit bland, but they can manipulate it a bit to give it more taste, but if you don’t eat it what are you going to do with it/ It will go off and that would be a waste. I am not so sure about the vegetarian question though, and I wonder how many meat eaters would try it.

    • The first of anything is very expensive. Just look at computers. The first ones were giant and expensive, and now even the simplest and cheapest MP3 players have more processing power.

      • Christopher (admin team)

        That is true Bill, innovation can be costly, but over time, those costs get paid off, and more cheaper ways of making things are found. The difference between PC’s and GM food is that there are very few moral/ethical issues with PC’s.

        Thanks for the comment Bill, welcome to the community 🙂
        Christopher – Admin Team

  4. I think the idea of creating artificial meat is great. I would be surprised if you could do it more cost effectively than current farming methods. I would certainly give it a try. In terms of it being a bit bland, most of the fast food chains simply add flavouring to current meat supplies to get their trademark flavour.

    • Yes but it seems like another step away from nature to me, not that industrialized meat production represents natural living very much either. My kids like veggie burgers, they can’t tell the difference. Plenty of protein, but soya is GM too unless you are careful about what you buy.

  5. I think that the meat production experiment is just on an early stage. There is no guarantee yet but yeah it is very possible given all the advancements in technologies that humans have achieved. Scientists will surely find ways on how to make these meats safe for human consumption.

    • When I was a kid Alex we talked about taking a pill instead of eating, the future of food provision is entrenched in technology. The way my grandma shopped was nothing like we do today, you knew who made the things you ate, even biscuits and cakes. The idea of ready made food did not exist, let alone GM, artificial flavouring and colouring and water that helps you stay slim.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *