Photo by Lukas Budimaier on Unsplash
“In-vitro meat”, “lab-grown meat”, “synthetic meat” or “clean meat” - no matter the name, this new form of cellular agriculture may be the your chance to eat guilt-free steak.
1 in 10 people in Australia are vegetarian or vegan, but the remaining 9 in 10 Australians consumed approximately 35 kgs in red meat last year.
With consumption showing no signs of slowing down, companies across the world are starting to look lab-grown meat as an alternative source for meat.
A spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia said, “In vitro meat will simply reinvent the agricultural industry as we know it. Since animal agriculture is the most environmentally destructive industry on the planet, and all indicators show that we simply cannot continue to consume meat at the rate we presently do and sustain our growing population,” they said.
Industry disruption
The state of the industry in Australia is the most profitable it’s ever been so it’s safe to assume there is little focus on finding alternatives - especially with exports nearly doubling in the last 5 years; $9.2bn in 2011 to $15.1bn in 2016.
But Oxford university scientists have estimated that cultured meat uses 45% less energy to produce than beef, between 82 and 96% less water and produces up to 95% less greenhouse gas.
“In vitro meat is the future. It's the first important step towards putting environmentally sound, humanely produced real meat into the hands and mouths of people who insist on eating animal flesh,” said the spokesperson for PETA.
Photo by Pexels
Clean meat for all?
“As production of in-vitro meat increases, cost will decrease to the point where it will be cheaper to buy than traditional meat. Our concerns about the environment, our need to feed a growing population and the looming threat of antibiotic resistance will force us to change,” said the spokesperson for PETA.
There’s minimal research being conducted in Australia but, SAFEMEAT, a partnership between the red meat and livestock industry and the state and federal governments of Australia, have explored the idea of in vitro fertilisation for cloning purposes.
With all these considerations, lab grown meat may be an eventual reality, it definitely won’t be the only solution to creating a guilt-free steak.
