{"id":14132,"date":"2022-06-09T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=76846"},"modified":"2022-06-09T12:18:14","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T10:18:14","slug":"what-is-lab-grown-meat-a-scientist-explains-the-taste-production-and-safety-of-artificial-foods","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/what-is-lab-grown-meat-a-scientist-explains-the-taste-production-and-safety-of-artificial-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"What is lab grown meat? A scientist explains the taste, production and safety of artificial foods"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Dr Emma Davies\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 09 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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It wasn\u2019t long ago that the idea of the meat on our plates coming from vast stainless steel bioreactors, rather than farmed animals, seemed like science fiction. The notion has gone through numerous rebrands since its early positing as \u2018vat meat\u2019, which triggered unappealing visions of high-tech Spam.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lab meat\u2019 came next, as scientists perfected the recipe in small beakers in laboratories. Then came the more appetising-sounding \u2018cultured meat\u2019, as investment from high-profile individuals rocketed and producers positioned these products as having been brewed, just like beer. Now, \u2018cultured meat\u2019 has evolved to \u2018cultivated meat\u2019, which is the preferred term used by CEOs in the industry.<\/p>\n

Whatever you choose to call it, with the future of global food security in question, and farmed meat a key culprit in climate breakdown, slaughter-free meat is starting to look increasingly like the future of food<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How is lab-grown meat made?<\/h2>\n
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Meat grown in the lab at the University of Maastricht in 2011. Two years later, the world\u2019s first cultured burger was created by the scientists \u00a9 Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Rather than being part of a living, breathing, eating and drinking animal, cultivated meat is grown in anything from a test tube to a stainless steel bioreactor. The process is borrowed from research into regenerative medicine, and in fact Prof Mark Post<\/a> of Maastricht University, who cultured the world\u2019s first burger in 2013, was previously working on repairing human heart tissue.<\/p>\n

Cells are acquired from an animal by harmless biopsy, then placed in a warm, sterile vessel with a solution called a growth medium, containing nutrients including salts, proteins and carbohydrates. Every 24 hours or so, the cells will have doubled.<\/p>\n

How different is cultivated meat from the real thing?<\/h2>\n
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CEO of GOOD Meat Josh Tetrick \u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Cellular farming doesn\u2019t grow cuts of meat, with bone and skin, or fat marbled through it like a succulent ribeye steak. Muscle cells require different conditions and nutrients to fat cells, so they must be made separately. When the pure meat or fat is harvested, it is a formless paste of cells. This is why the first cultivated meat products served up have been chicken nuggets or burgers.<\/p>\n

The flavours, however, are of real meat. As they are produced in a sterile environment, there is less risk of contamination from disease and chemicals. This is in contrast to conventional agriculture where, says San-Francisco based Josh Tetrick, CEO of GOOD Meat<\/a>, \u201cyou have a live animal slaughtered on the floor. If you look at the Salmonella<\/em>, E. coli<\/em>, faecal contamination that\u2019s part of animal agriculture, it looks much better from a cultivated meat perspective than it does from a conventional meat perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is lab-grown meat as nutritious as regular meat?<\/h2>\n
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Cultivated chicken salad and meatballs from UPSIDE Foods \u00a9\u00a0UPSIDE Foods<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

A spokesperson for UPSIDE Foods<\/a>, a San Francisco-based leader in the cultivated meat arena, says that the nutrient profile will be similar, but it will also be possible to enhance or even personalise it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are exploring ways to improve the nutrient profiles of our products. Whether that\u2019s less saturated fat and cholesterol, or more vitamins or healthy fats,\u201d they said. \u201cFor instance, imagine if we could produce a steak with the fatty acid profile of salmon? Or what if consumers could customise the nutrient profile in their products to meet their dietary needs?\u201d<\/p>\n

As there are so few cultivated meat products on the market requiring food labelling, we\u2019ll have to wait to get a better understanding of the nutritional value.<\/p>\n

When can people buy it?<\/h2>\n
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In Singapore, GOOD Meat can be bought for home delivery via the Foodpanda app \u00a9 GOOD Meat<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

People in Singapore already can. Tetrick\u2019s company, GOOD Meat, has been producing and selling its chicken in Singapore since December 2020 at special events, both in an upscale hotel restaurant and the legendary Mr Loo\u2019s hawker stall.<\/p>\n

Breaded chicken and shredded chicken have both gone down well. Tetrick says the company has applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval in the US, but no timescale has been given.<\/p>\n

Other producers say that Western countries are still ironing out the details of how regulatory approval will work, but say they\u2019ll be ready to scale up as soon as approval is given in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Is it better for the environment?<\/h2>\n

The truth is, we can\u2019t know until mass production is happening. Modelling the potential impacts of a fast-moving biotech industry that\u2019s still in development is subject to many ifs and buts. One 2019 study from the University of Oxford warned that the energy used to make cultivated meat could release more greenhouse gases than traditional farming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pelle Sinke<\/a>, researcher at Netherlands-based sustainability consultancy CE Delft, who was not involved in the research, says the part of the study that assumed use of electricity generated by a large proportion of fossil fuels highlighted the importance of renewable energy for cultivated meat production.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some scenarios, cultivated meat had a higher global warming effect, and in some scenarios a lower effect, depending on consumption levels, expected energy use for cultivated meat and the beef cattle system it was compared to,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Sinke adds that the study doesn\u2019t, however, take into account the lower land use of cultivated meat. \u201c[There\u2019s] the possibility to use that land for plant-based protein production, nature and extra renewable energy production, which in turn influences the CO2<\/sub> emissions of cultivated meat,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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Depending on the scenario, cultivated meat can have either a higher or lower impact on the environment than regular farming \u00a9 Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

His own team has also been investigating the environmental impact<\/a> and he says that while cultivated meat is no silver bullet to solve all the world\u2019s problems, \u201cit certainly has a lot of potential because it directly offers a more sustainable alternative to conventional meats. It is a more efficient way of converting crops into meat, and therefore much less land is needed to produce these crops.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it does use more energy. For a lower carbon footprint than conventional meats, it is crucial that renewable energy sources are used in its production, including in the supply chain \u2013 importantly for the production of nutrients and other ingredients needed for the culture medium.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of the companies contacted for this article \u2013 Mosa Meat<\/a>, GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods \u2013 understand that building sustainable energy into production is essential.<\/p>\n

What challenges need to be overcome?<\/h2>\n

A vegan growth medium<\/h3>\n
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GOOD Meat\u2019s chicken is available to buy in Singapore, but regulatory approval is still being sought in the US \u00a9 GOOD Meat<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Until recently, in order to kick-start cell division, about 20 per cent of the growth medium had to be foetal bovine serum, drawn from the blood of a cow foetus. Not only is the serum prohibitively expensive, but it\u2019s also distinctly not vegetarian.<\/p>\n

But all the major players now claim to have developed an alternative. In early 2022, Post and his team published an academic paper about their foetal bovine serum alternative<\/a>. The process uses genetically modifying yeast to produce the necessary proteins. This technology, called precision fermentation, is similar to how medical insulin is made (we have a lot more than beer and bread to thank yeast for!). Post says that there is a whole new burgeoning industry for producing vast vats of productive microorganisms.<\/p>\n

Tetrick admits, however, that there are still challenges with scaling up the alternatives, and that his chicken in Singapore is produced with foetal bovine serum. \u201c[It\u2019s] not because we want to, but because it was included when we initially submitted our application, because we hadn\u2019t solved it when we submitted,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re awaiting regulatory approval to produce without it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mass production<\/h3>\n
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Cultivated meat bioreactors, like these ones at UPSIDE Foods, will need to be far bigger if mass production is going to be possible \u00a9 UPSIDE Foods<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Tetrick says that scale is the next great hurdle to clear. You need to be churning out \u201ca minimum of 15 million pounds [6.8 million kilos] per year at a facility, which is sort of a rule of thumb for national distribution across the US or Western Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

This will necessitate bioreactors that hold at least 200,000 litres, which has never been done in cell culture. \u201cPeople eat it every week in Singapore\u2026 right now the largest size that we\u2019re [producing in] is 1,200 litres, which is very small, relative to what is required. In my mind, this is the single biggest limiting step of the entire industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only when produced at scale can the price come down and compete with cheap, intensively farmed meat. Meanwhile, GOOD Meat\u2019s Singapore operation is currently running at a loss, selling hawker stall dishes for four Singapore dollars (around \u00a32.50). When launched in the West, all the products will start off at expensive restaurants \u2013 adding cachet to their launches \u2013 and can only trickle down to affordable supermarket prices with economies of scale.<\/p>\n

Texture<\/h3>\n
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Gelatine fibres being produced to be added to cultivated meat to improve its texture \u00a9 Harvard University<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Yes, much of the world\u2019s meat consumption consists of burgers, nuggets and sausages. But what if we want a juicy, cultivated steak? How do we turn meaty mush into a choice cut? It\u2019s a fast-moving picture, but GOOD Meat\u2019s current solution for their chicken products is to pair it with more structured vegetable proteins.<\/p>\n

Its offering in Singapore is 73 per cent chicken. \u201c[And then the rest] is binders and fillers,\u201d says Tetrick. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to optimise it for the sensory and consumer experience: taste, texture, flavour profile, cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cellular agriculture trailblazers argue that it\u2019s cheap burgers and chicken that are using up the majority of the one-third of the planet that\u2019s currently dedicated to growing farm-animal feed, so these products are both the most urgent and easiest to get to market. To achieve the texture of steak, says Tetrick, scaffold technology will be necessary<\/a>, as a way of building structure inside the vessel. This scaffold will most likely be made using vegan collagen.<\/p>\n

Ethically, can everyone eat it?<\/h2>\n
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Muslims can only eat meat that has been slaughtered in a particular way. There is some disagreement on whether cultivated meat is halal \u00a9 Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Now that the foetal bovine serum is out of the way, vegetarians could, ethically speaking, eat this meat \u2013 if they have an appetite for it.<\/p>\n

The religious element is a little trickier. For meat to be permissible under Islamic and Jewish laws, there are strict rules on how animals are slaughtered and how the meat is prepared. Cultivated meat is set to trigger lively debates among religious leaders around the world (interpretations of scriptures vary geographically), and has already started doing so in some zones.<\/p>\n

Would cultivating meat from kosher or halal meat cells solve the problem? In Indonesia, which has the world\u2019s largest Muslim population, the influential Muslim organisation Nahdlatul Ulama has reportedly given a statement<\/a> putting cultivated meat in \u201cthe category of carcass which is legally unclean and forbidden to be consumed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast, the Muslim-majority country Qatar is heavily investing in the technology, and building a production plant with GOOD Meat.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in the London Beth Din (Court of the Chief Rabbi), there\u2019s excitement at the prospect of a meat that could be a neutral food, under kosher law. Foods in milk or meat categories must be kept separate, so to have a neutral meat could provide a convenient loophole. And it could eventually provide cheaper kosher meat, which traditionally tends to be expensive.<\/p>\n

As Rabbi Conway says: \u201cThis is an extraordinary breakthrough and potentially a very exciting development for the kosher consumer. If the meat was available on a commercial scale, we would need full details of the manufacturing process and the ingredients used to rule whether it was kosher, but potentially this could make life easier and cheaper for kosher consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would happen to farmers and their animals if cultivated meat takes off?<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe envision that small-scale conventional farming will still be used for premium meat cuts and dairy products for years to come,\u201d says Post. \u201cThis protein transition will happen over decades, and innovations rarely completely replace existing practices. Cellular agriculture has the potential to create a more balanced and symbiotic relationship between small-scale farmers, consumers and the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post\u2019s team is already partnering with a farmer in the Netherlands<\/a>, who keeps a free-roaming, high-quality herd of Limousins, raised not for slaughter, but for regular biopsies for Mosa Meat\u2019s burgers. \u201cThe same way that crop farming currently provides feed for animals, we also require feed for our cells, using the same type of nutrients a cow needs,\u201d says Post. \u201cWe will work with farmers to grow the crops needed to feed our beef cells.\u201d<\/p>\n

UPSIDE Foods takes a similar view, while Tetrick says GOOD Meat is developing a beef line, culturing meat cells from a company called Toriyama, which is a high-end wagyu beef producer in Japan. \u201cThat\u2019s another interesting thing about cultivating meat \u2013 you can use these high-end meat sources and the cost to do it isn\u2019t any more,\u201d Tetrick says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just meat that can be cultivated<\/h2>\n

Dairy, without the cow<\/h3>\n
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Perfect Day cream cheese \u00a9 Perfect Day<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

From milk to ice-cream to cream\u00a0cheese, Perfect Day<\/a>\u2019s milk protein\u00a0is already available in over 5,000\u00a0stores across the US. But instead\u00a0of being made by cattle, it\u2019s\u00a0produced by a fungus genetically\u00a0programmed to create cow whey\u00a0protein, using the same precision\u00a0fermentation technology\u00a0responsible for medical insulin. And\u00a0the best bit: it\u2019s lactose free.<\/p>\n

Egg whites, without the chicken<\/h3>\n
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Pound Cake with protein by EVERY Company \u00a9 Every Company<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Precision fermentation\u00a0is used by Every\u00a0Company<\/a> to make\u00a0egg white, as well as a\u00a0soluble version of the\u00a0protein that even the\u00a0fussiest palate would be\u00a0hard-pressed to taste or\u00a0see, making it an ideal additive for protein-boosting drinks and\u00a0other products.<\/p>\n

Bluefin tuna, but no fishing<\/h3>\n
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Bluefin tuna from Finless Foods \u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

As the name suggests, Finless Foods<\/a>\u00a0is creating animal-free fish. The\u00a0company cultures bluefin tuna\u00a0cells in what it calls a microbrewery-style production facility. I was lucky\u00a0enough to attend an early prototype\u00a0testing in 2017, and I can confirm that\u00a0the fish croquettes tasted subtly\u00a0of a sea in which the cells had\u00a0never swum.<\/p>\n

No-hunt exotic beasts<\/h3>\n
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Tiger steak from Primeval Foods \u00a9 Primeval Foods<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Start-up Primeval\u00a0Foods<\/a> sees the\u00a0next logical step in\u00a0culturing meat cells\u00a0as a chance to taste\u00a0exotic, off-limits\u00a0animals such as lion\u00a0and zebra. After\u00a0launching in 2022,\u00a0Primeval Foods is\u00a0already promising\u00a0imminent tastings\u00a0in London and New\u00a0York, and has so far\u00a0released pack shots of\u00a0tiger steak and zebra\u00a0sushi rolls.<\/p>\n