Meat that’s meat but not really meat? What?! Well, several startups have been working on developing lab-grown meat via stem-like (not exactly stem cells) cells. It’s a method being worked on to produce meat without actually killing animals. This is crazy, right? But it’s innovative and, to be honest, will be revolutionary if successful with the public.

NASA actually kick-started this concept by funding research for astronauts to grow meat (it would be impractical and impossible for them to prepare meat whilst in space), and now, many startups have continued with this concept. Concepts like Memphis Meats, Mosameat, Modern Meadow. Supermeat, and Finless Foods are amongst the many working to put “clean” meat on the market.

These startups are using medical technologies to grow animal products and by-products like eggs, meat, and leather. It takes far fewer resources and considerably would save on emissions.This would also cut down significantly on meat emissions (if you read my previous article you’ll know emission levels are RIDICULOUS for meat production). It’s an alternative to force-feeding and essentially abusing animals to produce meat and animal by-products.

Scientific American details how these researchers have taken skeletal muscle and isolated satellite cells to culture them and then go on to have them divide and grow. These muscles grow like real muscles in the animals would. Practices vary lab to lab, and it’ll take a great deal of practice and methods to find what works best. It’s a bit spooky but entirely fascinating and mind-boggling.

But…. there are obstacles...several. This process requires large amounts of funds. The serum used to create this meat is ludicrously expensive, and it actually does harm animals as it is animal serum (via animal blood) taken directly from livestock.

Some startups have been able to create the meat without serum (how? It’s not disclosed or certain), and many plan on having their products hit the market serum-free; it’s just all about figuring out how to provide growth factors to promote cell division but there’s progress being made. Serum is what makes production so expensive, but getting rid of the need for it can make these products significantly more affordable. At the end of the day, it’s possible to make this product completely clean meat and cheaper.

But, it’ll be quite a task to make this appealing to consumers. Who wants to eat “fake” meat when there’s the real thing readily available as well? It really boils down to any stigmas that may be associated with it and how the media discusses it in relation to how the public will perceive this new product. If successful, our emissions and animal slaughter rates will go down.

Sure, we may not ever stop killing animals for food purposes, but this could help alleviate the rates and numbers at which we do. In fact, many early scientists predicted that this would be a switch in dining habits that was inevitable.

This is revolutionary and the start to clean meat. Is it ethical? More so than directly killing animals for meat surely. Will it make an impact on our world? Possibly, if the public gets on board (emissions reduction!!). I don’t know the answers but we soon will find out if this innovation will change and shape our world, and I, for one, am interested to see what happens with this new “clean meat."