Pork meat grown in the laboratory

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GrnMarvl14

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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from Eindhoven University in The Netherlands have for the first time grown pork meat in the laboratory by extracting cells from a live pig and growing them in a petri dish.

The scientists, led by Professor of Physiology Mark Post, extracted myoblast cells from a living pig and grew them in a solution of nutrients derived from the blood of animal fetuses (although they intend to replace the solution with a synthesized alternative in the future).

Professor Post said artificially cultured meat could mean the meat of one animal could be increased to a volume equivalent to the meat of a million animals, which would reduce animal suffering and be good for the environment. As long as the final product looks and tastes like meat, Post said he is convinced people will buy it.

At present the product is a sticky, soggy and unappetizing muscle mass, but the team is seeking ways to exercise and stretch the muscles to turn the product into meat of a more familiar consistency. Post described the current in-vitro meat product as resembling wasted muscle, but he is confident they can improve its texture. Nobody has yet tasted the cultured meat because laboratory rules prevent the scientists tasting the product themselves.

The research is partly funded by the Dutch government, but is also backed by the Dutch sausage-making firm Stegeman, which is owned by food giant Sara Lee. The scientists (and presumably, the sausage makers) believe the meat product may be available for use in sausages within five years.

Other groups are also working on trying to produce cultured meat. NASA has funded research in the US on growing fish chunks from cells and meat from turkey cells, with the idea that the technology could have wide application in future space travel, since growing edible muscle would allow future astronauts to avoid a range of problems associated with using live animals in space. In a June 29 paper in the journal Tissue Engineering another group of scientists proposed new techniques that could lead to industrial production of meat grown in cultures.

The reaction of vegetarian groups has been mixed. A representative of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said as long as the meat was not the flesh of a dead animal there would be no ethical objection. Last year PETA even offered a prize of $1 million to the first person or group who could come up with a commercially viable cultured meat product. Other vegetarians have been more guarded, with a representative of The Vegetarian Society saying the main foreseeable problems would be labeling issues, as it would be difficult to label products containing cultured meat in a way that vegetarians would trust.
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Nothing like meat grown in the blood of unborn baby animals.

But it's an interesting idea. Would certainly lessen PETA's bitching...and lead to some interesting discussions on the ethics of eating meat.
 
Awesome! A possible decrease in animal slaughter.

However, I highly doubt it'll ever catch on to real meat-eaters. After all, does meat that was grown sound as appealing as actual meat? :/
 
Interesting..... but not for eating.


Surely this technology is a key part of growing tissue for use in transplants ect ect


but what about cybernetics!!!

Seriously. I want a robot that utilises living tissue dammit!




GrnMarvl13 said:
Would certainly lessen PETA's bitching
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Nothing can do that ... ever.
 
Even though the article states that PETA likes the idea?
 
You really gotta wonder how good it'll taste...
 
I wonder if I actually tastes like pork...~
 
Fooling peoples' sense of taste and smell is incredibly simple, using some basic organic chemistry. That said, I've read about this before; IIRC NASA was trying to develop artificial meat for use in space travel.
 
If this actually catches on it would mean we wouldn't need as many farms. On the one hand that's wonderful for the enviornment (those cows fart too much baha), but on the other hand we'll have more angry farmers.
It seems like there's no perfect solution to anything.

I think I'm going to stick to the real stuff. Mmmm ... sirloin ...
 
When meat is described as being five years away from being good enough for sausage meat you've gotta be a bit weary...
 
Kadabra said:
Fooling peoples' sense of taste and smell is incredibly simple, using some basic organic chemistry. That said, I've read about this before; IIRC NASA was trying to develop artificial meat for use in space travel.
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I thought this was one of the ways the Federation procured meat in Star Trek. I could be wrong, though.

Me personally, I'd give it a try. I trust lab conditions a bit more than most slaughterhouses. (Don't ever read Old MacDonald's Factory Farm; it's a great read but you will swear off meat for the rest of your life.)
 
Silverwynde said:
I thought this was one of the ways the Federation procured meat in Star Trek. I could be wrong, though.

Me personally, I'd give it a try. I trust lab conditions a bit more than most slaughterhouses. (Don't ever read Old MacDonald's Factory Farm
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Unless you're vegetarian, I don't reccomend watching Fast Food Nation; either.
 
I doubt this would effect PETA's opinion, if they are against owning pets and milking cows then they'll probably be against animals getting pricked with a needle. Pretty soon they'll probably protest against eating plants because they have feelings too.

What I do wonder is if it will effect people's opinions that are vegetarian or vegan due to moral choices. I know I'm not against eating engineered meat over form animal(in contrast). (And even though I'm still partly skeptical on the quality of the meat)
 
Would only have to get the genetic material once, I would think. Tiny prick has to be infinitely preferred to mass slaughter.
 
bell02+, it said right there on the documents that as long as nothing croaked, PETA was fine with it. They're finally acting rational for once, now I no longer feel the need to make some snarky meat reference.
...So, are you going to try our friend the cloned beef?
 
SPACE-MEEEEAT!!!
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Complaints by angry customers over the poisoning of their burgers, Mac Meaty tried this new corporate adventure. Sadly not having access to that technology we have to use NAPKINS.
 
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