• JUN / JUL 2018 |
TECHNOLOGY 63 |
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The meat we consume, and the animal farming industry is under ever growing scrutiny from various quarters of society. There is also a significant vegan and animal rights movement that’ s gaining popularity amongst the younger generations. So is the way we consume meat under threat, are we going to change our eating habits or the way we farm and produce meat for mass consumption. Is meat grown in the laboratory the answer or just an idea from a science fiction book. |
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GLOBALLY the world consumes roughly 300 Million tonnes, and that’ s expected to rise beyond 400 Million by 2050. Broken down per person this works out at around 42 kgs per person worldwide. The meat industry forms a massive sector within agriculture, it accounts for 8 % of global human water use. On average 56 Billion animals are raised and slaughtered for consumption worldwide. It’ s expected that by 2050 the meat industry will reach $ 1,567.00 Billion.
Just looking at these numbers alone, its hard to believe that the meat industry is going to disappear. Yet, change is coming because many believe this is unsustainable long term. That the planet can’ t sustainably supply the resources required to continue the industrialised meat industry.
Some advocate switching to a vegan lifestyle, but for many this is a step too far. Another suggestion is the emerging advances in laboratory grown meat products. Hampton Creek, a food manufacturer based in the US, have stated they expect to have lab grown meat in the shops by 2018. Focusing on fish-based products and grown from real fish cells. The company believe that as much as 1 tonne of fish could theoretically be produced from a single cell.
Co-Founder of Finless Foods, Mike Seldon talking about lab grown meat;“ Fish demand is rising but production can’ t go
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any higher. 52 % of all fisheries are exploited, 25 % above that are in collapse, they are bovver exploited. So, we have 23 % of the worlds fisheries left that we can use to increase production. So, if we want to eat fish at the rate we currently eating it we have to do this.”
Experts have said that it’ ll be another 5-6 years before steaks and fillets will be ready for retail. Currently it costs around £ 12,000 to produce one pound of meat in the laboratory, which at the moment makes its unviable for retail. The meat is created from stem cells under laboratory conditions, and those stem cells are taken from the blood of calf foetuses. Though Finless Foods are researching for a replacement that doesn’ t harm animals and is cheaper.
Josh Tetrick, the 37-year-old behind Hampton Creek has recently insisted that his company will bring to the market a lab grown meat product by the end of 2018. They are currently working on growing chicken strips in the lab which are then mixed with other ingredients to create chicken fingers.
The cultured meat industry faces several challenges before the product goes mainstream and we see lab grown meat in our supermarket. One of those is making it commercially viable, currently the cost to produce lab grown or cultured meat is extremely expensive. Mark Post, Leading scientist in this field, believes its currently possible to produce a hamburger in the lab
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for around £ 10 but even this is still expensive. It might be fine to pay a tenner for a burger in a restaurant but its over priced to be sold in a supermarket.
One of the biggest challenge for those companies researching laboratory grown meat, isn’ t just cost or the science behind the project. Its also public perception, its trying to get past peoples misunderstanding and mistrust regarding lab grown meat.
The third major challenge the industry must overcome is being able to upscale production. In order to grow cells, it requires a‘ Bioreactor’ which is a high-tech vat that provides the correct environment to grow those cells. Currently the largest‘ Bioreactor’ has a volume of 25,000 litres, compare this to the volume of an Olympic swimming pool which has the capacity to hold 2,500,000 liters, its quite small. Experts have estimated that a bioreactor of 25,000 litres can roughly feed 10,000 people. When you put that against the global population, feeding 10,000 from one bioreactor is a drop in the ocean. You would need 900,000 bioreactors of that size to feed the population by 2050. If its to become a mainstream retail product then an upscale of production needs to happen and the price will need to be dramatically reduced to the same price scale as farmed meat or around the same price.
The idea of‘ Lab Grown Meat’ isn’ t to stop eating meat. It’ s a way to feed the planets growing population whilst eating fewer animals. The US alone consumes
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approximately 26 billion pounds of beef a year, then if you added the amount of pork, chicken and pork to that amount you suddenly realise its unsustainable. Our current system requires a massive industrialised farming industry which consumes a massive amount of resources. The downside will the loss of jobs globally within the industry as a reduction in eating traditionally farmed meat will mean job losses.
Lab grown meat is still in its infancy and therefore a risky business endeavour for any company to invest in. Though it does have potential for extremely high rewards. Currently there are just a handful of companies within this niche sector but its expected this is likely to increase as consumers become more confident in the product.
The lab grown meat industry has a long way to go before it can become a viable mainstream alternative to they way we currently farm animals for meat consumption. The meat industry as it is today will be unsustainable as the population grows, the resources required to grow the industry as the population of the planet soars just aren’ t there. We either need to reduce our meat consumption, go vegan or look towards alternatives such as lab grown meat. Lab grown, or cultured meat will eventually become mainstream, it probably won’ t replace animal farmed meat completely, but it will become a viable alternative.
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