Scientists at Eindhoven University, in Holland, managed to replicate growth in cells taken from a live pig
By Chris Farnell
The project has been funded by sausage manufacturer Stegeman, owned by Sara Lee, and has received two million pounds from the Dutch government.
The scientists created the artificial pork by extracting cells from the muscle of a live pig. These cells, called myoblasts, grow into muscles and heal damage in animals.
The myoblasts were incubated in a nutritious “broth”, created using the blood products of animal foetuses, although eventually the scientists intend to find a synthetic solution. The cells grew into a sticky muscle tissue. Mark Post, Professor of physiology at Eindhoven, described the meat as “rather like wasted muscle tissue.”
The muscle tissue needs exercise to give it a tougher, steak-like consistency.
The technology has obvious applications.
“You could take the meat from one animal and create the volume of meat previously provided by a million animals,” said Post, who is leading the research. “We need to find ways of improving it by training it and stretching it, but we will get there. This product will be good for the environment and will reduce animal suffering. If it feels and tastes like meat, people will buy it.”
GROWING DEMAND
In its recent paper, ‘How to Feed the World 2050’, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said that meat and dairy consumption is set to double over the next 40 years, while food production is likely to be damaged by factors such as climate change. The UN has said that 18 percent of greenhouse gases come from livestock.
The Vegetarian Society said: “The big question is how could you guarantee you were eating artificial flesh rather than flesh from an animal that had been slaughtered. It would be very difficult to label and identify in a way that people would trust.”
Animal rights campaigners PETA said: “As far as we’re concerned, if meat is no longer a piece of a dead animal there’s no ethical objection.”
Edited by Ellie Duncan
Source: http://www.stegeman.nl
http://www.tue.nl/