Cell-Cultured Beef: It's (Almost) What's for Dinner
Assuming the 'ick factor' goes away
By Mike L. Ford, Newser Staff
Posted Mar 6, 2022 5:10 PM CST
Updated Mar 7, 2022 12:07 AM CST
newser.com
( I've read that human meat, known as 'long pork', is superior to all other meats. Is this the way? )
(NEWSER) – “We are changing the paradigm. We are detaching the meat from the animal.” Of course, that is essentially what butchers have always done, but it carries different meaning coming from Dr. Uma Valeti, cardiologist and cofounder of Upside Foods, a prototype lab/restaurant specializing in cell-cultured chicken. New York Times food writer Kim Severson’s taste review was ambiguous. “I sampled a slightly grainy chicken pâté,” she writes. “Generous seasoning masked the flavor of the meat.” However, professional tasters and other panelists in this YouTube of the “World’s First Cultivated Meat Blind Tasting” were fooled by the taste, texture, and smell. One called it "a historical moment."
Still, it is downright hard to make it sound appealing. That has been a core problem for tissue engineers and their marketing teams ever since the “Burger Professor” of Maastricht University introduced a patty grown from cow stem cells in 2013. His $375,000 price tag was another problem at the time. Costs are way down now, but production remains relatively flat on a global scale. Singapore is the only country to grant regulatory approval. The FDA is writing rules. Global investors are not waiting, however, including ADM, which bet $347 million recently and happened to change its motto to “Unlocking Nature, Enriching Life.” Analysts with McKinsey say the industry could grow to $25 billion by 2030 (compared to $1.4 trillion for the meat industry).
In an interview with Modern Farmer, investor Rahim Rajwani of Atelier Meats remains confident, saying, “I think the ick factor goes away strictly through education and, ultimately, through taste profile.” The biggest selling point involves the enormous environmental impact of the actual meat industry, which accounts for 60 % of greenhouse gas emissions from food production, per the Guardian. That is why investors are betting on cell-cultured meat, but not everyone is eager to give up the traditional approach to “detaching the meat from the animal.” The Times notes potential issues around culture, ethics, health, and general unintended consequences stirring a nascent anti-lab-meat movement. Furthermore, the jury is still out on the environmental impacts, per this Vox report. (Read more stem cells stories.) |
