Last Thursday, the 7th
of March, Katrien Verbeke from Delhaize introduced us to the concept of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the retail sector. You might not
remember, but in this guest lecture she talked about ‘lab grown meat’. This
very odd invention caught our attention and that’s the reason why we wanted to
find out more about this artificially produced meat!
First of all, how can meat be produced
artificially? Well, a small amount of stem cells needs to be taken away from a
living animal and be converted into muscle cells. Afterwards, these cells grow into lumps of
muscle tissue in the lab. The technology to create this ‘in vitro meat’ already
exists for more than a decade. Up till now, however, no real edible and
commercially viable product has been created. Mark Post of Maastricht
University is one of the front runners who is researching this subject.
Secondly, why would we bother? The production
of meat is in fact very harmful to our environment. A lot of land is needed to raise
animals and grow food for them. Additionally, the amount of water and energy required
to produce meat is extensive and lots of greenhouse gasses are emitted. Moreover,
we wouldn’t have to kill these innocent animals anymore. As a result, lab grown
meat could definitely counter all of these disadvantages.
However, according to Mark Post there are still
multiple challenges to face before this new development can become a real
widespread product. A lot of research still has to be done to equal the taste,
texture and amount of proteins of real meat. Moreover, it has to become
possible to produce this ‘lab grown meat’ in larger chunks and in large
amounts. And last but not least, the main challenge is to convince the
consumers.
Would you ever consider stop eating meat? And
would ‘lab grown meat’ be an option for you?
The video below recapitulates this story about
‘lab grown meat’. Meat the future...
Eva & Kaat
Ten billion animals are killed every year for food, in the US alone! The number really shocks me. But I'm afraid that while lab meat can be in grocery stores within five to ten years, the meat industry won't disappear that quickly...
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI agree with Elise! I am not a big fan om meat myself, but I am pretty sure that the belgian population really likes a big piece of meat on their plate on a daily basis. It is true that the production of meat really puts a strain on the environment, but most of us really do not care.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMoreover, I believe this lab grown meat will be more expensive than normal meat, since a lot of research still has to be done. In addition, researchers are still thinking about the possibilities to produce this ‘lab grown meat’ in larger chunks. I really think that all these obstacles will be reflected in the price. Only time will tell if this concept will work!
Chloë De Schuyter