We live in a very opinionated and politically charged world, no doubt about it. The increased number of highly efficient communication means amounted to greater than ever before ways of socializing and finding groups that share one’s worldview. Sadly, while definitely being a good thing, it has caused many tensions between those (ideologically) opposing each other.
There are, however, people who are looking for compromises, and it is an idea for a compromise that is the subject of this blog. So, let’s get to the meat of it (after thorough deliberations I have decided to include this joke and I stand behind my decision).
Cultured meat
The name that serves as a heading for this segment is only one of many by which the technology is dubbed, the other are, ex. in vitro meat, cell-based meat, and synthetic meat.
Contrary to what some of You might be thinking, this meat is NOT fake; it’s just grown in separation from the organism. The process begins with painlessly removing a few muscle cells from a living animal and nurturing them in a controled environment. The latter is possible thanks to bioreactors, alternatively called cultivators. After some time, those cells will develop into a neatly grown piece of meat.
What’s interesting, products created that way tend to leave laboratories from time to time. There are, though not many, places where one can buy it. Nevertheless, it is still an emerging technology, thus, there are some questions to be answered and gaps to be filled.
Have your cake and eat it?
There is a saying in my native language which we can quite literally translate to “the wolf is full and the sheep is unharmed”. Well, in this case, we can take it almost literally.
Artificial meat could solve the problems of those enthusiasts who don’t want to hurt animals. They wouldn’t also get bored easily, because the cells can be harvested from different animals.
Advocates of this invention also point out its potential health benefits. As the meat’s development is fully controlled by a group of scientists, it’s very unlikely (or even impossible) for any contaminations to happen.
Finally, while this is obviously not the case now, cultured meat could take over a significant part of the food market (if it’s cheap enough to produce, that is). In time, when the resources for its production and the methods of creating it are upgraded, it may as well happen.
Yet, there are also quite a few problems…
The trouble
The idea sounds so good at first, that it might seem weird it’s not widespread. There are, unfortunately, some crippling issues.
First of all, some people may not be so keen on trying the “non-natural” meat. For them, the only natural meat is the one grown on an animal, regardless the chemistry behind it.
Furthermore, meat production is already associated with huge emissions of greenhouse gasses. Currently, the production of its cultured counterpart is thought to produce even more waste.
Some experts also point out that sterile does not necessarily mean healthy. Our knowledge about the subject is too limited for us to predict potential dangers.
To top it all off, there are ethical concerns regarding the serum which is, today, used for its production; the substance is gathered from bovine fetuses… Now that’s ironic to say the least.
Conclusion?
As with most inventions of this kind, it’s hard to give an objective opinion. Fortunately, it’s much easier with a subjective one.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of the idea, despite the fact it needs a few crucial adjustments. Those can only happen if we give it enough time and attention.
Introducing the larger public to the idea will be, in my opinion, the toughest thing to do, but first, we need to give them reasons for it. Right now, I’m not fully convinced either.
sources:
Earth911. 2021. How Sustainable Is Lab-Grown Meat?. [online] Available at: <https://earth911.com/business-policy/is-lab-grown-meat-sustainable/> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
Emm, J., 2021. Save Me From Food Foolishness!. [online] Feathers For Your Journey. Available at: <https://artepreta.com/2014/10/05/save-me-from-food-foolishness/> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.seattletimes.com/explore/careers/knowing-when-and-how-to-compromise-at-work/> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
The Good Food Institute. 2021. The science of cultivated meat | GFI. [online] Available at: <https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cultivated-meat/> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
Zhang, S., 2021. The Farcical Battle Over What to Call Lab-Grown Meat. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: <https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/07/lab-grown-meat/565049/> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
Medium. 2021. Cellular Agriculture: From Lab to Market. [online] Available at: <https://medium.com/cellagri/cellular-agriculture-from-lab-to-market-9e31b8a1a6f7> [Accessed 15 December 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Cultured meat – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultured_meat> [Accessed 15 December 2021].