Science

Brits in bid to create LAB-GROWN meat and SOLVE world hunger


Scientists from the University of Bath are growing animal cells on blades of grass in the hope of creating meat in the laboratory. The burning of fossil fuels for animal agriculture counts for almost 18 percent of all human greenhouse gas emissions which are slowly eradicating the ozone layer and leading to a warmer planet. And the demand is continuing to grow as the rise of emerging economies such as China put too much strain on the animal agriculture industry.

This is why scientists are hoping to create meat in the laboratory in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and help minimise world hunger.

The British scientists took stem cells from pigs and placed in a reactor in a laboratory.

They then fed the cells a solution of glucose, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and placed the cells on blades of grass.

The cells then multiply to eventually become mature muscle cells, which is the basis for the meat.

Dr Marianne Ellis, senior lecturer in biochemical engineering, said the current texture which scientists are able to grow is suited towards burgers and sausages.

However, the process is very expensive at the moment, but the hope is it will become cheaper as more time goes on.

Dr Ellis said: “The UK really is one of the key essential players globally on the scale-up so that is what we’re working on as engineers, developing systems to grow the cells on a large scale.

“In terms of when we’re likely to see it in the supermarkets, probably the most advanced company at the moment is Mosa Meat and they are predicting four to five years.

“The huge advantage of eating something like cultured meat is that it addresses our global needs and our global challenges of both food security and addressing climate change.

“Our global population is growing and our current food production methods will not scale to produce what we need to feed everybody.

“We need something like an additional 60 million tonnes of protein to feed the population by 2050 and we can’t do that like we currently do.

“This cultured meat is a way to do that. It can be done anywhere in the world – it can be done where it is really hot and where it is really cold.

“We have the opportunity also to address our climate issues because this method compared to traditional beef production has much less greenhouse gas emissions, has much less water use, has much less land use and reduced energy use so it really addresses those two key global challenges.”



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