Lab-Grown Meat Will Replace Organic Flesh in Poorer Countries
Omar Yusuf — September 6, 2011 — Eco
References: treehugger & treehugger
Although lab-grown meat may sound like an unappealing, almost perverse alternative to regular beef, take a minute to reconsider all the possible implications. Animal cruelty, industrial cattle ranches, unnecessary hectares of grazing land and megatonnes of methane emission could all be part of the past.
The only barrier? Getting over that icky feeling that comes with the knowledge that your meal was grown in a laboratory. But cows aren't the only animals lucky enough to avoid the chopping block; Mark Post of the University of Maastricht has successfully grown "pork" in laboratory conditions. By pork, of course, he means replicated muscle tissue from pigs combined with horse fetal serum (aka, secret sauce). Yummy! Even if you ignore the pale, anemic look of lab-grown meat, it still seems altogether unsavory, especially to people already distrustful of GMOs.
However, let's make it clear: Laboratory meats require much less water, 99% less land and produces 96% fewer toxic emissions than regular meats. If it's genuinely that beneficial to the environment, everyone can stand to take a bite. Who knows, you might even like it!
The only barrier? Getting over that icky feeling that comes with the knowledge that your meal was grown in a laboratory. But cows aren't the only animals lucky enough to avoid the chopping block; Mark Post of the University of Maastricht has successfully grown "pork" in laboratory conditions. By pork, of course, he means replicated muscle tissue from pigs combined with horse fetal serum (aka, secret sauce). Yummy! Even if you ignore the pale, anemic look of lab-grown meat, it still seems altogether unsavory, especially to people already distrustful of GMOs.
However, let's make it clear: Laboratory meats require much less water, 99% less land and produces 96% fewer toxic emissions than regular meats. If it's genuinely that beneficial to the environment, everyone can stand to take a bite. Who knows, you might even like it!
Trend Themes
1. Lab-grown Meat - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Development of new methods and technologies for cultivating lab-grown meat at scale.
2. Environmental Sustainability - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Creating sustainable meat alternatives that require fewer resources and produce fewer emissions.
3. Consumer Acceptance - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Designing effective marketing strategies to overcome consumer aversion and increase acceptance of lab-grown meat.
Industry Implications
1. Food Technology - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Advancing food science and technology to produce lab-grown meat that is indistinguishable from traditional meat.
2. Agriculture - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrating lab-grown meat into agricultural systems to reduce land and water usage.
3. Sustainable Packaging - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Developing eco-friendly packaging solutions for lab-grown meat products to align with the sustainability benefits of the product.
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