Cultured Meat: Production of Meat Without Slaughtering Animals

Cultured Meat: Production of Meat Without Slaughtering Animals – Cultured Meat is a breakthrough in animal husbandry biotechnology where meat can be produced with the help of certain synthetic media so that meat is produced differently from conventional meat. If in the world of botany (a branch of biology that studies plants), there is a term tissue culture, namely the process of plant propagation by using a part of the tissue of a plant grown in certain media. Basically, animal meat, of course, can also be propagated by the same process.

 In the future, the potential for laboratory-scale meat by developing specific cells/tissue will increase amidst the challenges of the global climate and the inevitable growth of the population. Statistically, The World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) projects that in 2050, the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion, an increase of 1.3 billion when compared to 2020 which had reached 7.7 billion. To meet the growing human consumptions, meat production must, of course, be adjusted or even increased to ensure the availability of nutritious food.

Tissue Culture and Meat Culture Are In-Vitro Plant and Animal Tissue Propagation Mechanisms. Source: NewsFoodMagazine

During its development, the topic of cultured meat, which is meat that can be propagated and multiplicated in vitro media such as plants propagated by tissue culture, has become extensive. Until now, several terms of cultured meat have developed, namely healthy meat, slaughter-free meat, in-vitro meat, lab-grown meat, cell-based meat, clean meat, and synthetic meat. These various terms, of course, still refer to the same meat production system, namely in-vitro and sterile with the help of growing media in the laboratory.

Historically research on this meat cultivation has a long time journey of research. In 1971, Russell Ross succeeded in multiplying the muscle tissue of the Guinea Pig. Time after time, in the 2000s, Jason Garverick Matheny popularizes the term cultured meat. Research in this field of course continues to be carried out in various worlds with some progress being made. In 2013, Mark Post, a professor from Maastricht University, was the first person that successfully produces meat from in vitro process (cultured meat) that can be consumed for hamburgers/burgers.

Mark Post also believes that the solution for reducing meat consumption from slaughtered animals is the development and utilization of cultured meat (Post, 2012). By reducing the slaughter of animals, several positive things can be achieved. From an environmental perspective, the meat produced can have reduced environmental damage in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and the efficiency of land and water usage in the livestock industry (Tuomisto, 2019). As a matter of fact, Based on the environmental report, the livestock sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the world, especially methane gas (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions.

  Cultured Meat Process In Vitro. Source: Gaydhane et al, 2018

The process of cultured meat consists of various steps and methods, starting from selecting starter cells as a source, growing media, and scaffolding. all of which are carried out in a sterile and closed laboratory. several experts have a view about suitable animal skeletal muscles, but it needs to be studied in-depth. Additionally, The selection of growth media and scaffolding is also still under profound investigation so that the process can run optimally. On the other hand, during its development in the future, experts have to produce cultured meat with the same quality as conventional meat, especially in terms of taste and texture. Research related to this topic is still ongoing and has a long way to go with miscellaneous challenges in it.

Meat developed in vitro from animal tissue can address many ethical, environmental, and public health concerns compared to conventional meat production. However, in the future, producing meat in-vitro, producers and supporters of this technology will have to consider a variety of social issues, including attractiveness, consumer acceptance, religious views, regulation, and the potential economic impact, especially on farmers. In conclusion, Various aspects need to be studied so that the use of this cultured method can be used extensively as a solution to increase world meat production to help facilitate access to nutritious food for humans in more equitable and affordable ways.

Article Source Cultured Meat: Meat Production Without Slaughtering Animals:

Bryant, C. 2020. Culture, meat, and cultured meat. Journal of Animal Science. 98.1093 / jas / skaa172.

Edelman, PD, McFarland, D.C., Mironov.V.A., Matheny.J.G. 2005. Commentary: In vitro-cultured meat production. Tissue Eng. (5-6): 659-62. Doi: 10.1089 / ten.2005.11.659. PMID: 15998207.

Farooq, I. 2018. Cultured meat could be commercialized within three years. Accessed via https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/72204/cultured-meat-commercialised/.

Gaydhane, M.K., U. Mahanta, C.S. Sharma, M. Khandelwal and S. Ramakrishna. 2018. Cultured meat: state of the art and future. Biomanuf Rev 3: 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40898-018-0005-1

Post, M. J. 2012. Cultured meat from stem cells: challenges and prospects. Meat Sci. 92: 297–301. doi: 10.1016 / j. meatsci.2012.04.008

Shoup, M.E. 2019. Survey-Are-consumers-warming-up-to-the-idea-of-cell-cultured-mea. Accessed via https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2019/12/13/Survey-Are-consumers-warming-up-to-the-idea-of-cell-cultured-meat on17 April 2021.

Tuomisto, H. L. 2019. The eco-friendly burger: could culture meat improve the environmental sustainability of meat products? EMBO Rep. 20 (1): 47395. DOI: 10.15252 / embr.201847395

Wikipedia. 2020. Cultured Meat. Accessed via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultured_meat on 19 April 2021