The agricultural industry, and more specifically the meat industry, is expected to change significantly in the upcoming decades (Le Mouël et al., 2015). Today’s society is facing numerous challenges regarding feeding the growing human population. Alexandratos and Bruinsma (2012) argue that a sixty percent increase in the world food supply is needed before 2050 to feed the unprecedented increasing human population. Besides the necessity of feeding the population, the agricultural industry must respond to developing social expectations as well as reducing the carbon footprint significantly (Hocquette, 2016). Society is becoming increasingly concerned with the life and welfare of animals, the threatened environment as well as a balanced and healthy diet. Further, as the agricultural industry is responsible for one-third of all human-caused greenhouse emissions reducing the industries carbon footprint is essential in limiting the effects of climate change (Gilbert, 2012). Summarizing, the agricultural and meat industry are unsustainable in its current form (Feenstra, 2013). The aforementioned factors will drive fast-paced changes in the industry, one of which is artificial meat.
Artificial meat, or lab-grown meat, is supposedly heading to your dinner table. Lab-grown meat is made by taking a muscle sample from the animal, after which stem cells are collected. The stem cells are dramatically multiplied which ‘allows them to differentiate into primitive fibers that then bulk up to form muscle tissue’ (Scientific American, 2018). Over the last decade several start-ups have attempted to turn artificial meat into an economically viable solution ranging from beef, poultry, pork to seafood. For example, Memphis Meat has attracted 17 million dollars in funding from multiple investors including Bill Gates and developed the world’s first clean meatball. Unfortunately, a quarter-pound of Memphis Meat’s ground beef costs $600 (which still is a significant reduction from $300.000 in 2013).
Economically viable lab-grown meat has multiple benefits. Not only does it generate employment through the creation of a new industry, it can help support the increasing demand for meat around the world. As stated in the first paragraph, the agricultural industry in its current form is not able to (carbon) effectively feed the growing world population. Furthermore, artificial meat would stimulate small-scale farming while decreasing factory farming. Factory farming is notorious for its poor conditions and lack of regard for the life and welfare of animals. In other words, artificial meat is superior from an ethical stand point as well. A point often overlooked are the health benefits associated with lab-grown meat. Besides being able to control the ratios of protein or fat in the meats, there is almost no need for antibiotics as the meat will be produced in a sterile environment. The US Food and Drug Administration argued that antibiotics in the diets of our livestock contribute significantly to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (FDA, 2018). Lastly and most importantly, are the suitability benefits of lab-grown meats. Jacobsen (2017) states that making “1,000 kg of cultured meat takes 7 to 45% less energy, 78% to 96% lower greenhouse emissions, about 90% less water, and 99% less land.” Therefore, switching from factory farming to the laboratories could have a long-term positive impact on the environment.
The potential benefits of lab-grown meat are significant and widely shared. However, issues such as taste, safety, healthfulness, technological developments and costs are often underexposed. Although the artificial meat industry still has a long way to go and a lot of hurdles to cross, I’m willing to bet you a (lab-grown) burger that McDonald’s will sell clean meat in the upcoming decade.
Arthur Fortanier
Discussion
Would you eat artificial meat? Why (not)?
Sources
http:/www.scientificamerican.com/article/lab-grown-meat/
http:/www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7yg3ar/eli5_synthetic_meat/
http:/www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm092810.htm
http:/www.futuresplatform.com/blog/are-we-ready-artificial-meat
http:/www.bestfoodfacts.org/is-synthetic-meat-in-our-future/
http:/iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085010/meta
http:/www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919213001012
It is always nice to see content like this. coming from Maastricht myself, I have heard a lot of first hand news about lab grown beef as the world’s first tissue cultured hamburger was grown there, as much as the benefits are well publicised, customer resistance will for sure shape the market in the future regardless.
Personally, I would love to try it, I have no problem with eating it. Unfortunately, at this point, cultured meat are very expensive. My pocket is that deep.
Thanks for sharing this interesting blog post, Arthur! I agree with you that lab meat has a lot of potential for the future. I personally love a good steak or a burger every now and then. However, I’m highly aware of the downsides of the food industry. That’s why I try to stick with organic meat as often as I can. I have the impression that right now, we’re facing two, very different trends: one of them is the growing audience who wants to avoid the exploitation of animals, especially in Western countries. I have a lot of friends who, over time, became vegetarians. The other trend is the fastly growing demand for meat in countries with a high population growth. I once read an article that stated that most Indians were vegetarians only until recently – which is now changing due to globalization. I believe that with the expertise that we have today, we are getting pretty close to the production of affordable, well-tasting pieces of lab-grown meat. However, institutions such as the FDA (in the U.S.) and the EMA (in the EU) will slow down the distribution of such inventions. On the one side, I find it good that thorough tests are being run before launching the final product. On the other hand, I personally can’t wait for it to finally arrive!
Before reading this post I was unaware of the progress of lab-grown meat. After reading this article I began to really wonder when we may be able to buy cheap lab grown meat?
I came across this article: https://www.fastcompany.com/40565582/lab-grown-meat-is-getting-cheap-enough-for-anyone-to-buy
“With these two plays–a more efficient bioreactor and a distributed manufacturing model–we can essentially drop the cost down to about $5 a kilogram [$2.27 a pound]. This is where it starts getting interesting, because the distributed model also allows you to use the current economics.”
“Tyson, which is one of the world’s largest food companies and is known for chicken, sausage, hot dogs, and other meats, doesn’t expect traditional meat production to go away. But the company, which also invested in the lab-grown meat company Memphis Meats, sees an opportunity for new kinds of protein.”
In my opinion, the advancement of lab-grown meat will definitely change the lives of many as soon as the price can be dropped. The article talks about how the Chinese government is also investing in clean-tech products and is curious about sustainable agriculture. Wonderful topic, I really enjoyed learning more about advancements in the agriculture industry.
Hi Arthur, thank you for sharing this elaborative and interesting blog post on the clean meat industry! It seems that cultured meat might be the best next alternative to traditional meat harvested from animals, if not the best, considering the eliminated need for antibiotics. As opposed to plant-based meat-mimicking food alternatives, such as the eggless scrambled eggs created by the company Just, clean meat alternatives might have the greatest chance to go mainstream as they fundamentally are real meat. However, although I do expect a future increase in consumers trying one of the technology-enabled food alternatives, I also expect great resistance to change, especially when considering the cultural value of meat. Personally, I am very much excited about the increase in plant-based substitutes and the potential to create clean meat without the need for fetal bovine serum.
Hi Arthur! I find this topic very interesting since I monitor closely the environmental impact of my own food consumption. The environmental benefits that you listed seem very promising and would provide a substantial improvement to the current state of things. However, I wonder whether an easier solution for the issue would be to alter food consumption patterns? Many studies have stated that people consume more meat than is necessary to keep healthy. Also, eating red meat is linked to increased risk of heart disease and cancer. People could thus be encouraged to reduce the amount of meat in their diet instead. However, clean meat sounds like a great alternative for people who are not willing to give up meat. Especially, as developing countries are becoming wealthier and consuming more meat a solution needs to be found fast. Be that as it may, I think that the topic of clean meat can only have a good impact on our societies and the environment.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/22/cultured-meat-environment-diet-nutrition