Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Soylent White or the Other Other White Meat

Well, I am not exactly sure how I feel about this, but, I can’t say it surprises me. It seems scientists are working on test tube meat. Yes, you read that correctly, edible, lab-grown meat. A professor of meat sciences (who knew there was such a degree) at Utrecht University is working on growing artificial pork meat out of pig stem cells. They believe a form of meat suitable for burgers, sausages and pizza toppings could be available within a few years.

Paul Kosnik, vice president of engineering at Tissue Genesis in Hawaii says “All of the technology exists today to make ground meat products in vitro.” They just need to figure out how to mass produce it.

Jason Matheny, a University of Maryland doctoral student believes the easiest way to create edible tissue is to grow “meat sheets” (Cassandra?). Meat sheets are layers of animal muscle and fat cells stretched out overlarge flat sheets made of other edible or removable material.

Taste is an unknown at this point. Real meat is of course, more than just cells; it has blood vessels, connective tissue, fat, etc. Matheny notes to get a similar arrangement of cells, lab-grown meat will have to be exercised and stretched.

Suddenly Meat Wad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force is only a few years away.

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