EP 402 A Feast Without the Cruelty: The Promise of Cell Cultured Meat

There is an edible space race on to bring cell cultured meat to market.  What is that, you say?  It’s having your meat and eating it too.  No slaughterhouses, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and sundry new foods derived from stem cells gathered through a biopsy from a living animal, a bioreactor maintaining the temperature, acidity and oxygen level for cell survival and a liquid growing medium inside the bioreactor feeds the cells. Once this was science fiction.  Today, it is science fact. It’s being done successfully in competing laboratories at this moment.  The questions that remain are the flavor and feel of the ‘clean meats’, how you market them and ways to continue to drive the price points down to a level where consumers will be interested.  Oh, and either making meat and dairy companies partners or outmaneuvering them on the regulatory side, where their influence and dollars have much influence.  In his book, ‘Billion Dollar Burger’, author Chase Purdy walks us through this intriguing world of food science and the impacts manufactured meat may have on the marketplace.  It could be much greater than the plant-based meats already taking off in ways previously unanticipated.

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