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[Macam]

Here's a fairly interesting scientific development. I mean, I'm sure this stuff tastes like crap at the moment, but even then, I imagine it's better than most protein bars at the moment.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Experiments for NASA space missions have shown that small amounts of edible meat can be created in a lab. But the technology that could grow chicken nuggets without the chicken, on a large scale, may not be just a science fiction fantasy.

In a paper in the June 29 issue of Tissue Engineering, a team of scientists, including University of Maryland doctoral student Jason Matheny, propose two new techniques of tissue engineering that may one day lead to affordable production of in vitro - lab grown -- meat for human consumption. It is the first peer-reviewed discussion of the prospects for industrial production of cultured meat.

"There would be a lot of benefits from cultured meat," says Matheny, who studies agricultural economics and public health. "For one thing, you could control the nutrients. For example, most meats are high in the fatty acid Omega 6, which can cause high cholesterol and other health problems. With in vitro meat, you could replace that with Omega 3, which is a healthy fat."

"Cultured meat could also reduce the pollution that results from raising livestock, and you wouldn't need the drugs that are used on animals raised for meat."

PRIME WITHOUT THE RIB

The idea of culturing meat is to create an edible product that tastes like cuts of beef, poultry, pork, lamb or fish and has the nutrients and texture of meat.

Scientists know that a single muscle cell from a cow or chicken can be isolated and divided into thousands of new muscle cells. Experiments with fish tissue have created small amounts of in vitro meat in NASA experiments researching potential food products for long-term space travel, where storage is a problem.

"But that was a single experiment and was geared toward a special situation - space travel," says Matheny. "We need a different approach for large scale production."

Matheny's team developed ideas for two techniques that have potential for large scale meat production. One is to grow the cells in large flat sheets on thin membranes. The sheets of meat would be grown and stretched, then removed from the membranes and stacked on top of one another to increase thickness.

The other method would be to grow the muscle cells on small three-dimensional beads that stretch with small changes in temperature. The mature cells could then be harvested and turned into a processed meat, like nuggets or hamburgers.

TREADMILL MEAT

To grow meat on a large scale, cells from several different kinds of tissue, including muscle and fat, would be needed to give the meat the texture to appeal to the human palate.

"The challenge is getting the texture right," says Matheny. "We have to figure out how to 'exercise' the muscle cells. For the right texture, you have to stretch the tissue, like a live animal would."

WHERE'S THE BEEF?

And, the authors agree, it might take work to convince consumers to eat cultured muscle meat, a product not yet associated with being produced artificially.

"On the other hand, cultured meat could appeal to people concerned about food safety, the environment, and animal welfare, and people who want to tailor food to their individual tastes," says Matheny. The paper even suggests that meat makers may one day sit next to bread makers on the kitchen counter.

"The benefits could be enormous," Matheny says. "The demand for meat is increasing world wide -- China's meat demand is doubling every ten years. Poultry consumption in India has doubled in the last five years."

"With a single cell, you could theoretically produce the world's annual meat supply. And you could do it in a way that's better for the environment and human health. In the long term, this is a very feasible idea."

Matheny saw so many advantages in the idea that he joined several other scientists in starting a nonprofit, New Harvest (http://www.new-harvest.org), to advance the technology.

Other authors of the paper are Pieter Edelman of Wageningen University, Netherlands; Douglas McFarland, South Dakota State University; and Vladimir Mironov, Medical University of South Carolina.

ON THE WEB: For more information on cultured meat, see the New Harvest website, http://www.new-harvest.org .

 

[Mupepe]

McDonalds just orgasmed! If they can get this to taste good, I can imagine little kits being sold in Wal Mart "Grow your own chicken nuggets!" So so sweet. I love science

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Great. Now feed the poor.

 

[maharg]

Great. Now feed the poor.

Oddly enough, this could have a huge negative impact on the *economy* of third world nations. Especially the ones that are wiping out their rainforests to make room for cattle ranching.

 

[Deleted member 4784]

OMG...

Imagine chicken without fat, fish without mercury...

I only wish that this science were here now. Instead, we're probably not going to see anything close to what the article invisions until we're all in our 50's. =|

 

[hooded pitohui]

This is pretty interesting. I'd like to get some vegetarians' opinions on this. I know there's at least one of you here!

 

[Zaptruder]

Oddly enough, this could have a huge negative impact on the *economy* of third world nations. Especially the ones that are wiping out their rainforests to make room for cattle ranching.

Yeah... well, too bad for those guys. We'll remember to matrix them though.

 

[Zaptruder]

This is pretty interesting. I'd like to get some vegetarians' opinions on this. I know there's at least one of you here!

depends on the vegetarian. A vegetarian out of ethics would probably like this... where as someone that was a vegetarian for health reasons would probably say, meh.

Although you could technically just reduce meat consumption such that you'd get all the benefits and none of the negatives...

 

[Mupepe]

Personally, unless it tastes as good or better, I can't settle with my chicken. Chicken is the shit and deserves no compromises.

 

[SteveMeister]

I've been certain this would eventually happen for quite some time. It's definitely freaky and will probably face protests, bannings, etc., and who knows what sort of weird health effects it might have. But if issues of morality & healthfulness can be resolved, it'd certainly save a lot of money, eliminate the need for feed crops, increase sanitary conditions in meat processing plants (no live animals to slaughter), and eliminate the methane issue.

Be interesting to see if this sort of thing starts becoming available in my lifetime.

 

[human5892]

I'm not looking forward to the levels of stupidity shown when people protest this even after it has been found to be perfectly fine to eat.

There are tons of people who still have a problem with GM crops.

 

[LaneMeyer]

I'd like to get some vegetarians' opinions on this. I know there's at least one of you here!

you rang?

as a vegetarian, this is pretty disgusting actually. i wouldnt eat this not because its still meat (grown in a lab or not), but because just the thought of muscle tissue grown in a lab and stretched "like a live animal would" is freaky. part of being veggie isnt just 'not eating meat', but trying to eat healthier and more natural foods (read: organic).

if people actually want meat-textured foods, they already have soy, tofu, and wheat meats (sausage, hotdogs, chickenless nuggets, meatless meatballs, riblets, breaded chicken breasts, chicken patties, etc).

anyway...im not digging on lab grown and altered products.

 

[Ruzbeh]

OMG...

Imagine chicken without fat, fish without mercury...

I only wish that this science were here now. Instead, we're probably not going to see anything close to what the article invisions until we're all in our 50's. =|

What do you mean? Fat is good. You can't live without fat!

as a vegetarian, this is pretty disgusting actually. i wouldnt eat this not because its still meat (grown in a lab or not), but because just the thought of muscle tissue grown in a lab and stretched "like a live animal would" is freaky. part of being veggie isnt just 'not eating meat', but trying to eat healthier and more natural foods (read: organic).

Meat is good. Fat is good. Almost all mammals eat meat.

 

[cubanb]

NOT ON MY PLATE!

 

[Escape Goat]

part of being veggie isnt just 'not eating meat', but trying to eat healthier and more natural foods (read: organic).

meat is not organic or natural? I'm not trying to argue over your choice but I am confused by this.

 

[LaneMeyer]

Meat is good. Fat is good. Almost all mammals eat meat.

good luck with that.

 

[Red Blaster]

meat is not organic or natural? I'm not trying to argue over your choice but I am confused by this.

So then how do you get your protein VEGGIE BOY?

 

[goodcow]

So then how do you get your protein VEGGIE BOY?

Soy. Beans. etc.

 

[LaneMeyer]

meat is not organic or natural? I'm not trying to argue over your choice but I am confused by this.

the increased population and high demand for meat has turned what used to be "mom and pop" farms and cattle ranches into large industrial meat factories. theres nothing natural or organic about the way meat is HARVESTED today.

 

[Ruzbeh]

good luck with that.

You vegetarians are like the scientologists of food!

Fat is good. You really can't deny that. And meat is good too. Variety in food is the key to healthy food.

 

[akascream]

Something about fake meat is just so unappealing to me. If this is ever approved by the FDA, I can't imagine it taking off. Most people aren't really interested in mystery meat.

 

[LaneMeyer]

So then how do you get your protein VEGGIE BOY?

as goodcow said, soy beans (which can be made into a ton of products). there are also other things like whey protein, vitamins, or these drinks i just picked up that give you 40% of the daily recommended:

there are alternatives.

 

[Sriram]

As a vegetarian this sounds great but I wont get my hopes up for something at an early stage.

LaneMayer: if you bothered to read the article it said that the bad fats (omega6) could be replaced with good ones (omega3).

 

[LaneMeyer]

You vegetarians are like the scientologists of food!

Fat is good. You really can't deny that. And meat is good too. Variety in food is the key to healthy food.

actually, i try to not talk about it ever. youd be surprised how much im looked down on because of it. people get soooooo defensive, like they have to prove to themselves that eating meat is good. its funny when a lot of times people try to be all machismo about it and say "just give me some bloody cow on a burger!" if they actually had to prepare the food themselves (slit the cows throat, wash away the blood, hack it up, etc) their vaginas would quickly be shown.

i agree tho, certain fats are heathly and essential. key word there is "certain". you cant eat a whole bag of doritos (even tho i do :lol ) and say "im eating fat. its healthy."

 

[LaneMeyer]

LaneMayer: if you bothered to read the article it said that the bad fats (omega6) could be replaced with good ones (omega3).

if you bothered to read (and retain) the entire thread, youd see that i didnt speak of fats until my last post. my point wasnt even going near fats, but about meat and meat processing.

 

[BigGreenMat]

as goodcow said, soy beans (which can be made into a ton of products). there are also other things like whey protein, vitamins, or these drinks i just picked up that give you 40% of the daily recommended.

Well first off Soy has a lot of really bad health effects. Lowered fertility in women as well as incomplete proteins and creation of metabolites which can cause some pretty serious problems. That said just like any food a little of it is ok. But the reliance on Soy by vegetarians is not good. Whey protein is a milk extract so as long as you have no problems with that then Whey protein is a great complete protein.

As for the fake meat. I like it simply for the novelty it has.

 

[Phoenix]

I'll pay more for real meat, thanks

 

[Zaptruder]

I'd like to see this work out.

I mean, I like my meat, but I'm not particularly enamoured about the health and environmental effects of it. But I'll take it as a relatively out of way (to me) concern rather than do without...

but if there's an alternative like this, then once you get past the initial, generally illogical aversion to the idea, then hopefully it'll do well enough to become a future food source.

What I don't quite understand about Lanemeyer's comments...

if there was this cultured meat source available... if you think about it, it's not so far removed from the idea of say... cultured soybeans to produce tofu or whatnot... moreover if it's healthy, and environmentally friendly, what other aversions can you have to it? Unless it's a taste thing, I don't get your comments on been icked out by the artificial stretching of the cultured muscle. I mean, it's just a mimicking of the natural process without the need to grow a real animal... so that if the end result is a piece of meat that is healthier, has less negative environmental impact, but otherwise identical to the meat that is farmed, then what's the problem? I just don't see it, past the immature knee jerk, "ew that's suss" reaction.

 

[Phoenix]

if there was this cultured meat source available... if you think about it, it's not so far removed from the idea of say... cultured soybeans to produce tofu or whatnot... moreover if it's healthy, and environmentally friendly, what other aversions can you have to it? Unless it's a taste thing, I don't get your comments on been icked out by the artificial stretching of the cultured muscle. I mean, it's just a mimicking of the natural process without the need to grow a real animal... so that if the end result is a piece of meat that is healthier, has less negative environmental impact, but otherwise identical to the meat that is farmed, then what's the problem? I just don't see it, past the immature knee jerk, "ew that's suss" reaction.

It will likely be a taste and texture thing IMO. Unless you can subject that grown muscle to the same blood, and byproducts produced by the host animal - something is likely to give and that something has been taste.

 

[Zaptruder]

Well, I'd definetly have to try it out before I wrote it off, or bought into it...

but if they could... say, do about 85% of the taste and texture... which is a bit arbitary anyway, considering the taste of meat would vary from animal to animal, farm to farm, then I'd more than buy into the whole cultured meat thing.

But would you be writing this stuff off before it was even tried? I'd hope not.

 

[demon]

How is eating a bunch of 'alternative' food products "eating naturally"? Unless you're growing your own food in your back yard and preparing it from scratch, don't give me shit about "eating naturally".

 

[Leatherface]

if they actually had to prepare the food themselves (slit the cows throat, wash away the blood, hack it up, etc) their vaginas would quickly be shown.

the image this sentance gave me is priceless. :lol

 

[LakeEarth]

They invented test-tubesteak?

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

Lanemeyer:

Do you take any supplements?

 

[Phoenix]

But would you be writing this stuff off before it was even tried? I'd hope not.

I would be cautious for those first years after introduction. But just write it off entirely? Probably not, but if the taste is different I'll just pay more for real meat

I still have this thing about the fact that Burger Kings fries consist of amouts of edible plastic. Not too cool with that no matter how they taste.

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

I still have this thing about the fact that Burger Kings fries consist of amouts of edible plastic. Not too cool with that no matter how they taste.

Seriously?

 

[Phoenix]

Seriously?

Yep. Its not like chewing a straw or anything, but I wasn't 'up' on the idea either.

 

[LakeEarth]

That sounds like an urban myth, but it's not on Snopes so I dunno how true it is. I heard the same thing about Wendy's Frosties having edible plastic, but was told that was just a myth.

 

[xsarien]

It's not like making a nugget in a lab is a huge leap forward in terms of logic. Chicken nuggets are just ground up chicken bits that are leftover anyway.

 

[SteveMeister]

That sounds like an urban myth, but it's not on Snopes so I dunno how true it is. I heard the same thing about Wendy's Frosties having edible plastic, but was told that was just a myth.

Actually it was McDonald's shakes:

Clicky

 

[LakeEarth]

There's nothing on edible plastic there.

Ahh there's always these dumb myths that people want you to believe for no good reason. Some one tried to tell me that KFC grew genetically headless chickens or something... how that'd make them cheaper I don't know.

 

[Ruzbeh]

Speaking of Chicken Nuggets, how does everybody here have their Nuggets? I haven't had any in a while, but I usually eat 'm with ketchup mixed with hot sauce. OHOHOHHHH YEAHHHH

 

[xsarien]

Speaking of Chicken Nuggets, how does everybody here have their Nuggets? I haven't had any in a while, but I usually eat 'm with ketchup mixed with hot sauce. OHOHOHHHH YEAHHHH

Salt & pepper, no sauce.

 

[Ruzbeh]

Salt & pepper, no sauce.

Isn't that kinda dry?

 

[Zaptruder]

Yep. Its not like chewing a straw or anything, but I wasn't 'up' on the idea either.

But how does the 'edible plastic' past through the digestive system? Is it like teflon? completely neutral? Or does it have health effects? If it was the latter, didn't effect health, digestion or taste, then it might as well not be there... at least that's how I'd think.

On the otherhand, just hearing 'edible plastic' does give me cause for concern... mainly the questions I've just asked.

 

[xsarien]

Isn't that kinda dry?

Usually, no. Occasionally I'll get the odd one or two that are overcooked.

 

[Phoenix]

But how does the 'edible plastic' past through the digestive system? Is it like teflon? completely neutral? Or does it have health effects? If it was the latter, didn't effect health, digestion or taste, then it might as well not be there... at least that's how I'd think.

On the otherhand, just hearing 'edible plastic' does give me cause for concern... mainly the questions I've just asked.

Its supposed to pass through the system just fine. Its made of a natural starch (possibly corn). There isn't anything known to be harmful about the process AFAIK, I just didn't like the idea of it - and wonder about the long term effects of ingestion.

Here is some information about various edible coatings:

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Edible-Coatings.htm
http://www.agwest.sk.ca/education/plastics.php