In vitro meat is artificially generated meat products grown in a lab from animal cells, with potential cost savings, environmental benefits, and health advantages. The process involves growing muscle tissue in a culture medium with complex problems to solve. Public perception and environmental costs are potential challenges.
“In vitro meat” is the name given to edible meat products that are artificially generated in the laboratory rather than being obtained from slaughtered animals. Although the process uses animal cells to initiate the growth process, the need for a live animal is removed once an adequate amount of muscle tissue has been grown. There are several reasons why there is robust research in the field of in vitro meat production, including the anticipated cost savings, environmental concerns related to livestock farming, and potential health benefits from controlling muscle tissue development. As of 2011, there is no commercial production of in vitro meat intended for public consumption.
The process of creating artificial muscle tissue begins with real muscle cells from an animal. Once obtained, these cells are placed in a culture medium that provides essential nutrients, allowing the cells to grow. In one technique, the cells are simply fed and can create long strands of muscle tissue, growing freely in between. A more complex technique involves providing a framework of proteins for cells to grow in and around, approximating the appearance and shape of a real, complete muscle.
The current manufacturing process has many complex problems that have yet to be solved cost-effectively. One of them is the fact that many different types of hormones and other cells must be introduced into the growth medium in order for the muscle cells to form the proper structures. Another is that in order to be more efficient and environmentally friendly than the traditional livestock industry, alternatives to animal sources for the growth medium must be established.
Potentially, one of the biggest problems that a global in vitro meat industry could face is the common public perception of the product itself. While it would consist of exactly the same cells as the meat of a real animal, the idea that it was grown in a lab might keep consumers from embracing the meat. There could also be fears, rooted in its man-made origins, that the product could be dangerous to a diner’s health.
Environmental concerns about the harmful effects of livestock and other animal husbandry industries have lent support to ongoing in vitro meat research. Additionally, some researchers have speculated that in vitro meat may be a healthier choice than traditional butchered meat due to the sterile environment in which it is created. Some opponents of in vitro meat production argue that the environmental costs of the entire production process would actually be more harmful than the current livestock industry.
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