Cultured Meat

Growing a Cow in Your Kitchen

Cultured meat, also called in vitro or lab-grown meat, is a protein source made from animal stem cells [10]. With these few cells and nutrients, scientists are able to be specific and grow only muscle tissue. This saves a tremendous amount of energy because no organs or other tissues need to be produced to harvest the muscle tissue [11]. Additionally, the cultured cells grow rapidly and further reduce the inputs required to create this protein. According to Tumoisto and de Mattos (2011), lab-grown meat mimics the experience of meat from livestock while reducing land usage by 99%. Land reduction is achieved by using algae to feed the cells, freeing up land previously used for agricultural purposes. This results in a lower human-caused carbon footprint. However, Alexander believes the claim of a 99% reduction in land usage may not be justified because cultured meat has a similar energy efficiency to poultry meat.

Currently, commercial production of cultured meat is expected to emerge in 2021 [12]. This may be a generous timeline, however, because the process to create this meat is not very efficient in terms of energy, water, and feed use. The process is rather expensive due to a strict hygiene regime required for lab-grown meat [11]. With high direct energy needs, the financial and sustainability advantages for cultured meat are uncertain at this time. Improvements in technologies and practices for lab-based meat may reduce energy and cost demands enough for this to be a sustainable protein option.