tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
John Vidal's review of a compendium on agricultural technologies and the future demand for food recently published by the Royal Society, discussed artificial (or "cultured") meat as a solution for the 21st century (Artificial meat? Food for thought by 2050, 16 August). To clarify, the "artificial meat" Mr Vidal referred to is anything but. Cultured meat is a genuine meat, identical to the conventional product down to the DNA level, the major difference being that cultured meat is produced without the animal.
Grown in isolation, cultured meat is free of food-borne pathogens and cannot transmit diseases such as swine flu. It does not require pasture land, allowing local production in urban centres. It does not ruminate and thus neither produces manure nor contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It is the only form of meat that does not require animal slaughter.
The current barrier to cultured meat availability is the threshold of innovation. The demand for meat in the developing world is expected to rapidly increase. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has risen to the challenge, offering a $1m award to the first research team to develop a "commercially viable" cultured chicken product. As a catalyst for innovation, Peta is directly supporting scientific research at the Medical University of South Carolina for the development of cultured meat.
In a world of finite resources, our species is forced to make a choice. We can neglect the consequences of current agricultural practice and suffer Malthusian catastrophe or embrace the future by confronting crises with innovation.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/21/radical-changes-needed-to-feed-world
Grown in isolation, cultured meat is free of food-borne pathogens and cannot transmit diseases such as swine flu. It does not require pasture land, allowing local production in urban centres. It does not ruminate and thus neither produces manure nor contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It is the only form of meat that does not require animal slaughter.
The current barrier to cultured meat availability is the threshold of innovation. The demand for meat in the developing world is expected to rapidly increase. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has risen to the challenge, offering a $1m award to the first research team to develop a "commercially viable" cultured chicken product. As a catalyst for innovation, Peta is directly supporting scientific research at the Medical University of South Carolina for the development of cultured meat.
In a world of finite resources, our species is forced to make a choice. We can neglect the consequences of current agricultural practice and suffer Malthusian catastrophe or embrace the future by confronting crises with innovation.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/21/radical-changes-needed-to-feed-world