Sustainable Cultivated Meat: The Future of Protein Production

Saturday - January 27 2024, 21:00 UTC - 1 year ago

Lab-grown meat, or cultivated meat, is a more sustainable and ethical alternative to traditional livestock farming. Researchers at Tufts University have found a way to reduce production costs by engineering cow muscle cells to produce growth factors themselves. While there are still some hurdles to overcome, this breakthrough could lead to affordable cultivated meat in supermarkets in the near future.

Lab-grown meat, also known as ‘cultivated meat’, has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional livestock farming. With the growing concern for animal welfare and environmental sustainability, this new technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we produce and consume meat.In recent years, there has been a rise in startups focused on bringing cultivated meat to everyday consumers. While the technology behind this may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, it is quickly becoming a reality .

However, one major hurdle that has yet to be overcome is the cost of production.Currently, cultivated meat is only available in high-end restaurants due to its high cost. In order to make it accessible to the general public, researchers at Tufts University have found a way to reduce production costs. Their groundbreaking research involves engineering cow muscle cells to produce one of the most expensive ingredients in cultured meat - growth factor .

Growth factors are essential for stimulating cell growth and differentiation, and are a major contributor to the high cost of producing cultured meat. By genetically engineering cow muscle cells to produce growth factors themselves, the researchers were able to eliminate the need for expensive external sources of growth factors. This not only reduces production costs significantly, but also makes the entire process more sustainable .

One of the key factors that distinguishes this research from others is the use of native genes and dialing their expression up and down, rather than introducing foreign genetic material. This is crucial for regulatory approval, as there are stricter regulations when it comes to transplanted genes from one species to another.While this breakthrough brings us one step closer to affordable cultivated meat, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed .

The researchers found that the engineered cells did grow at a slower rate without external growth factors, so further work will need to be done in order to optimize production.Despite this, the potential for sustainable and affordable cultivated meat is undeniable. Not only does it address animal welfare and environmental concerns, but it also has the potential to meet the growing demand for protein as the global population continues to increase .

As David Kaplan, lead researcher at Tufts, predicts, we may soon see affordable cultivated meat in our local supermarkets within the next few years.