Science behind clean meat:
Clean meat also known as cultured, cell-based, or lab-grown meat (amongst other names) refers to a meat product created entirely in a lab through methods of cell culture and tissue engineering, as opposed to muscle tissue which grew in an animal (in vivo).
Public interest in such a concept was propelled forward in 2013 when Professor Mark Post presented the world’s first lab-grown hamburger at a public media-showing in London As of 2018, at least 4 companies involved in the development of cellular agriculture are based in Israel!
The prohibitive cost of the hamburger unveiled by Post et al meant that mass production was still a long way off and several technological hurdles still needed to be overcome in order to begin production on an industrial scale (Post, 2014). A legal ruling must be based on a proper understanding of the technologies involved many of which are still under development, or protected under industry secrets.
Sustainability
Present estimates regard the current system of meat production as unsustainable in the long-term. The UN estimates global meat consumption to increase by 73% by 2050, due to an increase in the global population, along with an increase in consumption of meat in countries such as India and China. In order to provide for a sustainable food supply, either meat consumption needs to be reduced or alternative sources of protein must be
found - hence interest in clean meat.
Process
In broad terms, the stages involved in the production of clean meat are:
1. The extraction of stem cells from an animal (or the extraction and conversion of other cells to pluripotent cells - Pluripotent stem cells are cells that have the capacity to self-renew by dividing and to develop into the three primary germ cell layers of the early embryo and therefore into all cells of the adult body, but not extra-embryonic tissues such as the placenta.
2. Multiplication/Proliferation of the cells in a suitable medium,
3. Differentiation of the cells into muscle cells (and possibly other cell types that
are typically found in “natural meat”), and their growth via scaffolding. Stem cells are often used in the production of clean meat as they offer two enormous advantages over other cells, namely their ability to multiply/thrive, and their ability to differentiate into various cell types.
I have limited time to go beyond this basic explanation but am happy to share this literature to anyone who is interested.
Clean meat also known as cultured, cell-based, or lab-grown meat (amongst other names) refers to a meat product created entirely in a lab through methods of cell culture and tissue engineering, as opposed to muscle tissue which grew in an animal (in vivo).
Public interest in such a concept was propelled forward in 2013 when Professor Mark Post presented the world’s first lab-grown hamburger at a public media-showing in London As of 2018, at least 4 companies involved in the development of cellular agriculture are based in Israel!
The prohibitive cost of the hamburger unveiled by Post et al meant that mass production was still a long way off and several technological hurdles still needed to be overcome in order to begin production on an industrial scale (Post, 2014). A legal ruling must be based on a proper understanding of the technologies involved many of which are still under development, or protected under industry secrets.
Sustainability
Present estimates regard the current system of meat production as unsustainable in the long-term. The UN estimates global meat consumption to increase by 73% by 2050, due to an increase in the global population, along with an increase in consumption of meat in countries such as India and China. In order to provide for a sustainable food supply, either meat consumption needs to be reduced or alternative sources of protein must be
found - hence interest in clean meat.
Process
In broad terms, the stages involved in the production of clean meat are:
1. The extraction of stem cells from an animal (or the extraction and conversion of other cells to pluripotent cells - Pluripotent stem cells are cells that have the capacity to self-renew by dividing and to develop into the three primary germ cell layers of the early embryo and therefore into all cells of the adult body, but not extra-embryonic tissues such as the placenta.
2. Multiplication/Proliferation of the cells in a suitable medium,
3. Differentiation of the cells into muscle cells (and possibly other cell types that
are typically found in “natural meat”), and their growth via scaffolding. Stem cells are often used in the production of clean meat as they offer two enormous advantages over other cells, namely their ability to multiply/thrive, and their ability to differentiate into various cell types.
I have limited time to go beyond this basic explanation but am happy to share this literature to anyone who is interested.