Cultured Meat

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I became increasingly aware of how the Earth is facing an unprecedented food production crisis. The fact that diseases can be passed onto humans from consumption of animal meat and then create a pandemic of this scale was extremely alarming. This brought me into researching about alternative food, and meat replacements.

 During my research I came across a new type of “cultured meat” grown from animal cells in a lab. In-vitro meat as scientists call it is grown in a Lab, by taking a cell biopsy, adding nutrients to the cells and growing them into a steak, or burger in the lab then cooked into a meal. This new technology creates the possibility for humans to grow meat, without needing to slaughter millions animals yearly, and without having to pump the livestock with growth hormones and antibiotics which then trickle into the human consumer causing various health issues and potential antibiotic resistance.

By watching “Meat the future” My Liz Marshal, “In-Vitro Meat” by VPro Doccumentaries, “Inside the quest to make Lab Grown Meat” By WIRED and Companies such as “Mosa Meat” which have put up many documentaries on their YouTube page, I learned more about the science behind producing meat in a sterile environment. The environmental benefits of this technology are innumerable, the amount of land needed for livestock farming can be reduced to 5% of what it is currently, the water and energy consumption are also much lower, thus creating reducing global carbon emissions due to livestock farming.

I will continue to research about cultured meat, and hope that it can one-day be scaled into the mainstream market at an affordable price. However, causing a shift in people’s consciousness and having the general public be comfortable with consuming meat that is man-made might be a massive social challenge. Do you think Cultured Meat could be the solution we need to combat to our global food production crisis?  

NB: I have posted the October thematic report in November after being kindly granted an extension by WooJoo Mentor. Thank you WooJoo Mentor for understanding and granting me the extension.