In less than one year from now we could be reading the food review of the world’s first in vitro hamburger. Yes, you read that right.
As an answer to our globe’s growing population and increasing meat consumption, scientists in the Netherlands are very close to debuting their meat grown from stem cells of healthy cows. The scientists have been working to grow muscle tissue from a small number of stem cells they’ve extracted from the cattle.
As awkward as this process sounds, the researchers believe it’s going to be beneficial for the world. As the trends lead us to believe that the world’s meat consumption is expected to double by the year 2050, this man-made meat will be able to be produced without the need for livestock.
The meat is expected to be more affordable and lead to the sustainability our growing population needs. In vitro meat production could lead to a 35 to 60 percent reduction in energy consumption. Land requirements for farming would decrease by 89 percent and the production of greenhouse gas would decrease due to non-conventional farming.
This product does not stand alone in its unique nature. In 2024, strips of pork were grown using a similar stem cell method and fish fillets have been grown in a lab from the muscle tissue of goldfish.
What a brave new world we live in. “It’s too difficult to farm these days, you say? Well, let’s just grow a burger in the lab!” These practices are still in the very early stages and it’s unclear when or if these products will be available to the public.
As the information is still limited regarding this meat production, I, for one, am curious what the taste test will reveal. I am also curious who else is making today the day they become a full fledged (slightly grossed out) vegetarian?
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