03-01-2012, 01:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-01-2012, 01:34 PM by drifting pages.)
http://www.economist.com/node/21548147
A QUARTER of a million euros is rather a lot to pay for a hamburger, but that will be the cost of the patty which Mark Post proposes to stick in a bun this October. The burger in question—not so much a quarter-pounder as a quarter-million-pounder—will be so expensive because it will be made from meat that has been grown from scratch in a laboratory.
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Producing meat in Petri dishes is not commercially viable, but Dr Post hopes to scale things up—first by growing the cells on small spheres floating in tanks and ultimately by using scaffolds made of biodegradable polymer tubes, which would both add the third dimension needed for a juicy steak and provide a way of delivering nutrients and oxygen to the steak’s interior.
The nutrients themselves could come from conventional crops, but Dr Post also has plans to use algae, which grow faster than vascular plants, to provide the necessary amino acids, sugars and fats. The upshot would be a world with fewer stock animals. Not only would that liberate land, it would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions (cattle are notorious sources of methane, which is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide). Moreover, you do not even have to kill a cow to obtain stem cells from it. A biopsy will do. That might mean that vegetarians would be able to enjoy meat, too.
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Another Article
http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2012/webprog...r6477.html
Traditional meat production through livestock is rapidly reaching its limits. Worldwide, meat consumption is projected to double in the coming 40 years (source WHO) and already we are using more than 50% of all the agricultural land for meat production. It has also become clear that livestock contributes appreciably to the emission of greenhouse gases such as methane and CO2. Last, the public objection against cruelty to animals will eventually favor a market for cruelty free meat. On the other hand, meat as we know it, is very likely to remain an important item in our food choices.
From all livestock, cows and pigs are the least efficient meat producers with a bioconversion rate of 15%. Through breeding and feeding, the bioconversion rate has reached its upper limit. This inefficiency provides us with a margin to improve meat production provided we move beyond the traditional boundaries of livestock.
Current stem cell technology and skeletal muscle cell biology present opportunities to grow meat in a laboratory “ex vivo” environment with a higher efficiency of converting basic nutrients into edible animal proteins. Already, we are capable of growing pieces of tissue that consist primarily of skeletal muscle from porcine stem cells, derived from muscle biopsies.
There is a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to eventually reach an efficient, cost-effective and high quality meat product, but most of these steps are of a technical nature. Given sufficient effort and resources these technical issues will be solved.
The versatility of the culture process may also result in alternative meat products that for instance contain healthier fatty acids, or are blends of various stem cell sources.
First and foremost however it is essential that a full proof of concept will be provided to attract larger resources to this promising endeavor. We are in the process of growing a first hamburger from bovine stem cells. An update of the state of affairs and of the challenges ahead will be provided.
I myself welcome the day where i will be able to eat steak with low fat very rich tasty flavor and with no cow dead because of it.
A QUARTER of a million euros is rather a lot to pay for a hamburger, but that will be the cost of the patty which Mark Post proposes to stick in a bun this October. The burger in question—not so much a quarter-pounder as a quarter-million-pounder—will be so expensive because it will be made from meat that has been grown from scratch in a laboratory.
......................................
Producing meat in Petri dishes is not commercially viable, but Dr Post hopes to scale things up—first by growing the cells on small spheres floating in tanks and ultimately by using scaffolds made of biodegradable polymer tubes, which would both add the third dimension needed for a juicy steak and provide a way of delivering nutrients and oxygen to the steak’s interior.
The nutrients themselves could come from conventional crops, but Dr Post also has plans to use algae, which grow faster than vascular plants, to provide the necessary amino acids, sugars and fats. The upshot would be a world with fewer stock animals. Not only would that liberate land, it would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions (cattle are notorious sources of methane, which is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide). Moreover, you do not even have to kill a cow to obtain stem cells from it. A biopsy will do. That might mean that vegetarians would be able to enjoy meat, too.
---------------------------------------------------
Another Article
http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2012/webprog...r6477.html
Traditional meat production through livestock is rapidly reaching its limits. Worldwide, meat consumption is projected to double in the coming 40 years (source WHO) and already we are using more than 50% of all the agricultural land for meat production. It has also become clear that livestock contributes appreciably to the emission of greenhouse gases such as methane and CO2. Last, the public objection against cruelty to animals will eventually favor a market for cruelty free meat. On the other hand, meat as we know it, is very likely to remain an important item in our food choices.
From all livestock, cows and pigs are the least efficient meat producers with a bioconversion rate of 15%. Through breeding and feeding, the bioconversion rate has reached its upper limit. This inefficiency provides us with a margin to improve meat production provided we move beyond the traditional boundaries of livestock.
Current stem cell technology and skeletal muscle cell biology present opportunities to grow meat in a laboratory “ex vivo” environment with a higher efficiency of converting basic nutrients into edible animal proteins. Already, we are capable of growing pieces of tissue that consist primarily of skeletal muscle from porcine stem cells, derived from muscle biopsies.
There is a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to eventually reach an efficient, cost-effective and high quality meat product, but most of these steps are of a technical nature. Given sufficient effort and resources these technical issues will be solved.
The versatility of the culture process may also result in alternative meat products that for instance contain healthier fatty acids, or are blends of various stem cell sources.
First and foremost however it is essential that a full proof of concept will be provided to attract larger resources to this promising endeavor. We are in the process of growing a first hamburger from bovine stem cells. An update of the state of affairs and of the challenges ahead will be provided.
I myself welcome the day where i will be able to eat steak with low fat very rich tasty flavor and with no cow dead because of it.