The advance of technology in the biological sciences gets scarier -- to me anyways -- everyday. I just read an article online from Businessweek magazine about a researcher who is growing meat in a laboratory that could be made available for sale in supermarkets in 5 to 10 years. In effect, no cows would be raised and finished to meet consumer demand for meat. One can only imagine the good such technology would be for the planet without mowing down forests to raise grain to feed cattle that belch lots of methane, etc. But not sure I am on board with the researcher's contention that this technology would be no different than growing hydroponic vegetables! Perhaps because I am getting images of a not too distant Terminator robot with human flesh and skin. Excerpts of the article are below:
In 2004, Matheny, then 29, created a nonprofit called New Harvest to turn that idea into reality. Thanks in part to his efforts, meat made in petri dishes may arrive at supermarkets within 5 to 10 years. "It's a way to satisfy the growing global demand for meat in a way that's healthier, more energy efficient, and sustainable," says Matheny, who has an MBA from Duke University and is studying for a PhD in applied economics at Johns Hopkins University.
Matheny's meat starts in a lab, where scientists extract stem cells from animal muscles. The cells are placed in a nutrient bath to develop and then on plastic scaffolding that allows them to form into strips as they multiply. Mark Post, a professor of tissue engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, may be close to realizing New Harvest's vision. Post's lab is producing 2 mm thick strips that are almost an inch long and a quarter-inch wide. Pack enough together, and you've got a meal.
Matheny's interest in changing the world's dietary habits began at age 13, when the Kentucky native first visited what he describes as a "factory farm" in his home state. The experience unsettled him. "Tens of thousands of animals are raised shoulder-to-shoulder, living in their own waste, pumped full of drugs, in a shed," Matheny says. "That, to me, is less appealing than making meat in a sterile facility. This process is like [growing] hydroponic vegetables, in a way."
Matheny claims that test tube meat could do more for the environment than "everyone trading their cars for bicycles," and he has a point: The meat industry generates some 18% of the world's greenhouse gases, according to a 2006 UN report. That proportion is expected to grow as consumers in developing countries such as China and India consume more meat.
You can read the full article by visiting:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_23/b4181038559924.htm
Oh, and if you are a mad scientist there is a $1million award being offered by PETA to do just what this researcher is doing so break out the test tubes and lab coat and get to work. Read more at:
http://dvice.com/archives/2008/04/peta_offering_1.php
1 comment:
More fake food in my system? Hmmmm sounds like I need to double down it and add some Corn syrup to it? Wait we already do that? I am so confused anymore on what to eat and what is and could be good for me and the environment at the same time.
Great post wonderful article. I heard of this before and they were going to call it it smeat.
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