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Lab-Grown Cultured Meat

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April 01, 2023

Why in news?

Recently, an Australian startup unveiledlab-grown cultured meat using the genetic sequence from the long-extinct woolly mammoth.

What is cultured meat?

  • Cultured meat also called cell-based meat or cultivated meat is genuine animal meat (including seafood and organ meats) that is produced by cultivating animal cells directly.
  • The livestock does not need to be killed in order to produce it.
  • It uses animal DNA to recreate in a lab the taste and texture of meat.

Singapore is the only country to have approved cell-based meat for consumption.

How a lab grown meat is made?

  • Harvesting stem cells–Stem cells are harvested through biopsy from fresh piece of meat.
  • Isolation -Isolate different types of cells (for instance muscle and fat cells).
  • Growth -The cells are put in bioreactor that uses the principals of cell cultivation and tissue engineering for growth and reproduction.
  • Differentiation - The cells are distributed onto “moulds” (scaffolds) to stimulate them to differentiate into connective tissues, muscles and fats giving the final product.

lab meat

What are the impacts of meat industry?

  • Produces carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
  • Inhumane treatment to animals.
  • Usage of toxic pesticides to grow animal food.
  • Prone to diseases.
  • Deforestation and reducing agricultural lands.
  • Consumption of more water.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) roughly 14.5% of global emissions of greenhouse gases are attributable to livestock farming

What is the significance of cultured meat?

  • Reduce environmental impact-It could vastly reduce the environmental impact of global meat production in the future.
  • Reduce emissions-Emissions from conventional animal agriculture could be reduced.
  • Uses less water-It uses much less land and water than livestock.
  • Renewable energy-It can run on energy produced purely from renewable sources.
  • Prevent animal slaughter–Cultivated meat helps save animal slaughter.
  • Food accessibility–Provides food accessibility to the population living in under-developed and strife-torn areas.
  • High in nutrients- Lab-grown meat is high in protein, vitamins, and minerals and can be lower in fat and cholesterol than conventional animal meat.

Quick facts

Wo0lly mammoths

  • The woolly mammoth is an extinct species of mammoth
  • It lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch.
  • It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with the African Mammuthus subplanifrons in the early Pliocene.

 

References

  1. The Indian │ Express Cultured Meat
  2. Swiss Info │ Cultured Meat Process
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