For people committed to preserving the environment and treating animals with dignity, laboratory meat can become the right choice. Therefore, a clear explanation of its origin and characteristics, the details of its manufacture, its benefits and contraindications, the law on the subject, whether it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and where it can be purchased (if it can be purchased at all) is necessary.
What is lab-grown meat?
So-called artificial, synthetic, cultured or laboratory-produced meat is a product that is obtained through the careful cultivation of muscle stem cells that have been extracted from pigs, chickens, calves, and others with a biopsy and without harming them.
It is not obtained directly from the body of an animal, by cutting it up in traditional farms and slaughterhouses. Finished laboratory meat has never been part of its anatomy as such, but is developed in vitro, in bioreactors and petri dishes. Nor should it be confused with the substitute proposals that are made from vegetable protein for non-carnivorous consumers.
Who invented lab-grown meat?
In December 1931, an inspired Winston Churchill wrote in Strand Magazine: “We shall escape the absurdity of raising a whole chicken for the breast or wings by growing these separate parts in a suitable medium.” And the shrewd English Prime Minister was not far off the mark.
Laboratory meat is another outstanding innovation that can be thanked for in space exploration, like water filtration systems or digital cameras in mobile phones: it comes from experiments that NASA has been carrying out since 2001 with turkey cells to keep astronauts alive on space trips.
That same year, Dutch dermatologist Wiete Westerhof and two of his compatriots, Dr. Willem van Eelen and entrepreneur Willem van Kooten, applied for a global patent for an independent process for the preparation of synthetic meat. The same was later done by American Jon F. Vein.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the technique of culturing these animal proteins in February 1995. But it was not until June 2005 that the corresponding peer-reviewed article was published in the journal Tissue Engineering, scientifically certifying this promising technology.
Laboratory meat in Spain: its legislation
As Spain belongs to the European Union, the legal treatment of laboratory meat depends largely on community laws. However, considering the novelty of this product and if there is no state opposition, it is most likely that the regulation on novel foods will be applied (Regulation 2283/2015).
Article 3 of the Directive speaks of “foods derived from cell culture or tissue culture derived from animals”, which fits in very well. And, if there are no specific guidelines yet, future ones must “ensure a high level of protection of human health and consumer interests”.
How laboratory meat is produced and obtained
As we have explained, cells extracted from animal tissues grow in vitro, that is, inside an artificial and controlled biological medium that imitates with great precision that of the living body from which they come. Their replication does not require any kind of genetic manipulation and occurs naturally.
They do this in two different ways: the cultivation of isolated muscle cells, for which those specialized in this tissue are fused, and a muscle with its complete structure, which requires a system such as the bloodstream and another for waste, lipocytes, chemical messengers and to be exercised.
What are the benefits of lab-grown meat?
Nutrients in lab-grown meat can be modulated, selecting those that promote good health and avoiding those that reduce it. The controlled environment prevents infections, and there are no more fees for animal feed and veterinary checks and fewer fees for storage and transport.
On the other hand, figures vary in different analyses regarding the carbon dioxide per kilo in the production of this meat compared to normal meat. It requires much less land, water, and antibiotics, but there are concerns about the environmental costs of nutrients and energy for the process.
Purifying the essential ingredients to food-grade standards, rather than the much stricter and more cumbersome pharmaceutical standard, would make it 80% more ecological than conventional beef at best. And it always avoids the slaughter of animals, an unquestionable advantage.
Disadvantages of laboratory meat
The money required for research and development is enormous and the price to acquire it is far from affordable, which, as with any other new product, should change in the future when it becomes widespread. And the goal of mass production involves industrial plants and their energy consumption.
Furthermore, there is still no European regulation for their marketing; the flavours and textures are far from what we are used to, and the latter are limited for now. Not to mention the uncertainty about their nutritional value, food safety, and consequences for livestock and their environment.
Is lab-grown meat suitable for vegetarians and vegans?
The answer to this question depends on the tolerance threshold that each vegetarian and vegan imposes on themselves. Laboratory meat is of animal origin, without a doubt, so, in principle and strictly speaking, neither the former nor the latter would want to eat it.
However, the welfare of the pigs, cows, and chickens from which the muscle cells for this artificial food come is fully guaranteed; they do not suffer or have their lives terminated. And people who care about that may be willing to compromise.
Where to buy lab-grown meat or cultured meat
Although in Spain we know of companies dedicated to the production of in vitro meat, such as the Basque company BioTech Foods, and at least seven other laboratories are involved in this with public subsidies, we still cannot go to the supermarket and put an amazing package in our shopping cart.
Today, Singapore has decided to regulate the sale of synthetic chicken nuggets by the company Eat Just. And, while Italy and Uruguay have banned it, the FDA has given the green light to the Californian companies Good Meat and Upside Foods to market it.
There is still a long way to go before we can obtain this product regularly and affordably in our supermarkets. However, in the last decade, awareness, technology, and necessity have driven its development to unsuspected levels, so we can probably find it more easily than we think.