In 1932, Winston Churchill, appalled by the leftover bones and gristle crowding
his dinner plate, predicted that in 50 years "we shall escape the absurdity of
growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by growing these
parts separately under a suitable medium." It’s taken longer than that, but at
the dawn of the 21st century we’re finally closing in on tasty and eerily
healthy meat grown by scientists instead of Old MacDonald.
"It’s been a thought problem for scientists for decades," says Jason Matheny,
director of New Harvest, a nonprofit organization devoted to global efforts to
produce cultured meat. With meat consumption in heavily populated countries like
China and India multiplying every decade, the environmental complications
resulting from industrial meat production have reached critical mass.
"Meat is now recognized as the leading contributor to global warming," says
Matheny, pointing out that meat production creates more greenhouse gases than
the entire transportation sector. Additionally, he says, the meat industry is
responsible for more than 2 million cardiovascular-related deaths annually,
pathogenic contagions such as avian flu and widespread water pollution due to
farm animal runoff. With in vitro meat, Matheny asserts, we could mitigate all
these problems, in addition to saving the lives of more than 60 billion animals
per year.
Photo Caption: With in vitro meat processing, scientists eventually might be
able to control levels of fats and protein and produce meat that is less likely
to be contaminated.
Photo Credit: Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times.
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