as insertion, deletion, silencing, activation,
or mutation of a gene, are not required to
produce in-vitro meat.
Furthermore, in-vitro meat is composed of a
tissue or collection of tissues, not an organism.
Therefore, it is not a GMO (Genetically
Modified Organism).
Since in-vitro meat is simply cells grown in a
controlled, artificial environment, some have
commented that cultured meat more closely
resembles hydroponic vegetables, rather than
GMO vegetables.
More research is being done on in-vitro
meat, and although the production of in-
vitro meat does not require techniques of
genetic engineering, there is discussion among
researchers about utilizing such techniques
to improve the quality and sustainability of
in-vitro meat. Fortifying in-vitro meat with
nutrients such as beneficial fatty acids is one
improvement that can be facilitated through
genetic modification.
To avoid the use of any animal products, the
use of photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria
has been proposed to produce the main
ingredients for the culture media, as opposed
to the very commonly used foetal bovine or
horse serum.
Ethical considerations
Animal welfare groups are generally in favour
of the production of in vitro meat because it
does not have a nervous system and therefore
cannot feel pain. Reactions of vegetarians to
in vitro meat vary, some feel the in vitro meat
presented to the public in August 2013 was
not vegetarian as foetal calf serum was used in
the growth medium.
Independent inquiries may be set up by
certain governments to create a degree
of standards for in vitro meat. Laws and
regulations on the proper creation of in vitro
meat products would have to be modernized
to adapt to this newer food product.
In vitro meat needs technically sophisticated
production methods making it harder for
communities to produce food self-sufficiently
and potentially increasing dependence on
global food corporations.
Religious considerations
Jews disagree whether in vitro meat is kosher
(food that may be consumed, according to
Jewish dietary laws). Some Muslim scholars
have stated that in vitro meat would be
allowed by Islamic law if the original cells and
AgriKultuur |AgriCulture
growth medium were halal.
Economic
The production of in vitro meat is currently
very expensive, and it would take considerable
investment to switch to large scale production.
However, the In Vitro Meat Consortium has
estimated that with improvements to current
technology there could be considerable
reductions in the cost of in vitro meat.
In a March 2015 interview with Australia’s
ABC, Mark Post said that the marginal cost
of his team’s original €250,000 burger was
now €8.00. He estimates that technological
advancements would allow the product to be
cost-competitive to traditionally sourced beef
in approximately ten years.
According to a press release (https://www.
supermeat.com/press-release) - SuperMeat,
the Israeli biotech and food-tech start up,
has announced in January 2018 that it has
raised $3M in seed funding and has formed
a strategic partnership with PHW, one of
Europe’s largest poultry producers, and an
equity investor in the company.
This new round of funding comes on the heels
of a wildly successful Indiegogo campaign
which raised $230,000 in pre-orders for
SuperMeat’s clean meat products. (https://
www.supermeat.com/press-release)
According to a news report in The Independent
(https://www.independent.co.uk ), meat grown in
a laboratory could be on restaurant menus by
the end of the year, one manufacturer has
claimed.
According to Josh Tetrick, CEO of clean
meat manufacturer JUST, the first
products such as chicken nuggets, sausage
and foie gras created using the technique
could be served in restaurants in the US
and Asia “before the end of 2018.”
Sources:
Read the complete referenced article in http://
research.omicsgroup.org/index.php/In_vitro_
meat This page is based on the copyrighted
Wikipedia article In vitro meat; it is used under
the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA).
https://www.supermeat.com/press-release
Lucy Pasha-Robinson, Friday 2 March 2018
15:17 GMT: https://www.independent.co.uk/
news/science/clean-meat-lab-grown-available-
restaurants-2018-global-warming-greenhouse-
emissions-a8236676.html
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