Artificial meat makes a mushy debut

Sunday, January 10, 2010

As if there wasn't already too much pork in the world, scientists (in the Netherlands, of all places) are culturing artificial meat in a laboratory. The original cells were extracted from muscles of a live pig!

According to Mark Post, professor of physiology at Eindhoven University, who is leading the government-funded research, the United Nations expects global meat and dairy consumption to double in 40 years and livestock get the blame for producing too many greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The Dutch government has committed the equivalent of nearly C$3.5 million into this project, which is designed to feed a growing world population.

The first product, produced in petri dishes in a laboratory, was described by scientists as mushy and they are working on ways to make its texture palatable. Edible meat is expected to be available in five years, but don't expect it to look and cook like a pork chop. This stuff is supposed to substitute for sausage.  A reminder of that old saying that you don't want to know how sausage, real or otherwise, is made. BF