In 2013, the cost of a burger with a cutlet made from laboratory grown meat was more than $ 300,000, and now it barely exceeds $ 10. Scientists are refining techniques to make artificial meat available and bring it to market in the next five years.
Most laboratory methods for growing meat use serum-derived animal cells. In a bioreactor, muscles are formed from cells, which becomes the basis of meat. However, the prime cost of this technology did not allow the introduction of artificial meat to the market and scale up production.
In 2013, biologist Mark Post of the University of Maastricht created the world's first burger made from test-tube-grown meat. Production of the product cost $ 325,000. Advances in technology have lowered this price many times over, and today a kilogram of artificial meat costs $ 80, and one burger costs $ 11. Thus, in four years the price has decreased by almost 30,000 times. However, scientists still have work to do. As of November 2016, a pound of ground beef cost $ 3.6, nearly 10 times cheaper than test-tube meat. However, scientists and meat startups believe that in 5-10 years, artificial meatballs and hamburgers will be sold in stores at a reasonable price.
According to Next Big Future, there are at least 6 companies that develop artificial animal products. Hi-tech has already written about Memphis Meats, a startup that plans to launch test-tube meatballs in 2-5 years, and is also going to grow steaks and chicken breasts in the laboratory.
Israeli startup SuperMeat cultivates kosher chicken livers, American company Clara Foods synthesizes egg whites, and Perfect Day Foods creates non-animal dairy products. Finally, Mosa Meat, the creator of Mark Post's first artificial meat burger, promises to start selling lab beef in the next 4-5 years.
Commercial livestock raising is very harmful to the environment. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it takes 2,500 liters of water to produce a single hamburger, and cows are considered the main source of methane, which enhances the greenhouse effect. Laboratory meat, even using animal cells, will significantly reduce the harmful effects on the environment. One turkey can produce enough cells to produce 20 trillion nuggets.
Hannah Tuomisto, an agroecologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, estimates that producing beef in a laboratory setting will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% and land use by 99%. By contrast, Carolyn Mattik of the University of Arizona believes that artificial production will do more harm to the environment. According to her calculations, creating chicken meat in laboratories with all the necessary nutrients will require more energy than raising chickens.
Students of the University of California at Berkeley will study the methods of creating artificial meat this year. In the fall, a special course on the creation of protein raw materials and the solution of problems associated with this process will start at the university. Students will be divided into competing groups, each of which will have to present a recipe for the perfect artificial meat.
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