In-vitro meat

In-vitro meat is the concept of growing meat in a laboratory environment. Growing meat in this way eliminates the need for farming in greenhouses and producing food for the animals. Nutrient solution for growing the meat can be isolated from plants grown in the greenhouse. In-vitro meat also eliminates the problem of what to do with the unwanted parts of the animal, such as bones, skin and offal. Although In-vitro meat is High-tech, it may use less space and energy and time to produce meat than raising animals would.

Mimicking Meat

Muscle tone will need to be developed to produce a laboratory culture that suitably mimics animal meat, and atrophy must be addressed by stimulating the cultured tissues to contract against a resistant force on a regularly scheduled basis. Providing suitable resistant forces will necessitate the development of a frame or scaffolding (read skeleton) to which muscles may be bound and forced to exercise.

PETA prize

PETA is offering 1 million USD prize to anyone who brings into market in-vitro meat.

Open issues

• Is this already possible or is this science fiction?
• What technological effort is required to produce and maintain the machinery behind this concept?
• What is the energy balance compared with legacy meat production?