Lab-Grown Meat: The Real Thing that Looks Like a Sci-Fi Invention

Presenting lab-grown meat

Lab-grown meat, also known as clean, synthetic, in vitro, or cultured meat (the term most accepted by marketers), is meat that is made in a laboratory.^[1] Cultured meat is a complex food product produced by cultivating animal cells in a controlled lab environment.^[2] Unlike traditional methods (e.g., livestock farming), cultured meat recreates the complicated structure of livestock muscles. Generally, cultured meat is produced in five steps^[3]:

1. Collecting a tissue sample from a live animal with a biopsy
2. Storing cells and obtaining stem cells
3. Cultivating and growing cells by providing appropriate nutrients, hormones, and growth factors (Figure 1)
4. Harvesting the newly formed tissue
5. Processing the tissue (i.e., meat)

This process aims to produce meat using less land and slaughtering fewer animals.

History and evolution

The production of cultivated meat can be traced back to 1912 when Alexis Carrel cultivated chicken heart tissue. Since then, this technology has evolved considerably, to the point of actual commercialization of cultured meat such as cultivated-based burgers^[4] (Figure 2). The year 2013 was a turning point for the technology when Mark Post and his research group from Maastricht University in the Netherlands developed the first cultivated beef patty.^[5] Currently, approximately 60 start-ups are trying to commercialize cultivated meat, with two California-based companies notably being approved to sell cultivated chicken. The US Agriculture Department approved the sale of lab-grown meat in June 2023.^[6]

Benefits and challenges

Currently, many start-up companies around the world are researching and producing the first versions of cultured meat products. As the production booms, we must consider certain crucial aspects before launching these products into the market, such as nutritional value, organoleptic properties (i.e., flavor, texture, and color), food safety, production scale, costs, and ethics.^[7]

On the one hand, the main advantage of this technology over traditional methods is from an animal welfare point of view, as well as from an environmental perspective in terms of reducing greenhouse emissions.^[8] Additionally, it can reduce common meat issues such as foodborne illnesses, animal diseases, and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.^[9] The ultimate goal of cultured meat is to address the ecological footprint of the current meat industry and to solve the problem of food insecurity.

On the other hand, there are several controversial factors and considerable debate surrounding cultured meat. These include its potentially deficient nutritional value, limited information regarding health benefits and risks, sensorial challenges, methodological and scale-up difficulties, elevated cost, insufficient regulatory legislation, and social perception hurdles.^[10] Furthermore, many complex processes are required to produce lab-grown meat that resembles a real steak. For instance, hormones and growth factors that are prohibited or restricted in many parts of the world need to be added to achieve a satisfying meat product.^[11] Despite these challenges, the cultured meat industry has made undoubtedly made incredible progress in recent years. However, there is still an open debate regarding its safety and viability.

Future perspectives

According to investigators from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute,^[12] cultured meat technology needs to evolve in terms of economic viability and become completely free of animal-origin ingredients (e.g., growth factors) to be an effective substitute for conventional meat. Nevertheless, this technology is still in the developing stage. Highly complex and multifactorial processes must be improved to successfully commercialize cultured meat.

---

[1] “What Is Lab-Grown Meat? How It’s Made, Environmental Impact and More,” BBC Science Focus Magazine, accessed July 10, 2023, https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/what-is-lab-grown-meat-a-scientist-explains-the-taste-production-and-safety-of-artificial-foods/.

[2] Gauri Jairath et al., “A Holistic Approach to Access the Viability of Cultured Meat: A Review,” Trends in Food Science & Technology110 (April 2021): 700–710, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.02.024.

[3] Keshia Broucke et al., “Cultured Meat and Challenges Ahead: A Review on Nutritional, Technofunctional and Sensorial Properties, Safety and Legislation,” Meat Science 195 (January 2023): 109006, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.109006.

[4] “Lab Grown Meat: How It Is Made and What Are the Pros and Cons,” accessed July 10, 2023, https://www.eufic.org/en/food-production/article/lab-grown-meat-how-it-is-made-and-what-are-the-pros-and-cons.

[5] “What Is Lab-Grown Meat?”

[6] “US Approves Lab-Grown Meat for Sale – DW – 06/22/2023,” dw.com, accessed July 10, 2023, https://www.dw.com/en/us-approves-lab-grown-meat-for-sale/a-65995610.

[7] Broucke et al., “Cultured Meat and Challenges Ahead.”

[8] Rosires Deliza et al., “Cultured Meat: A Review on Accepting Challenges and Upcoming Possibilities,” Current Opinion in Food Science 52 (August 2023): 101050, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2023.101050.

[9] Muhammed Shijas Vallikkadan et al., “Meat Alternatives: Evolution, Structuring Techniques, Trends, and Challenges,” Food Engineering Reviews 15, no. 2 (June 2023): 329–59, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12393-023-09332-8.

[10] Broucke et al., “Cultured Meat and Challenges Ahead.”

[11] Sghaier Chriki and Jean-François Hocquette, “The Myth of Cultured Meat: A Review,” Frontiers in Nutrition 7 (February 7, 2020): 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2020.00007.

[12] Jairath et al., “A Holistic Approach to Access the Viability of Cultured Meat.”