World's first lab-grown burger is eaten in London

[xytrius]

Leading news agencies are reporting the production of the first completely lab made burger cultured from cow muscle tissue using stem cell research. Prof Mark Post, of Maastricht University is the scientist behind the burger; the project was backed by Google co-founder Sergei Brin.

Excerpts from the BBC article (the BBC article also has more detailed information and videos):

Upon tasting the burger, Austrian food researcher Ms Ruetzler said: "I was expecting the texture to be more soft... there is quite some intense taste; it's close to meat, but it's not that juicy. The consistency is perfect, but I miss salt and pepper.

"This is meat to me. It's not falling apart."

Food writer Mr Schonwald said: "The mouthfeel is like meat. I miss the fat, there's a leanness to it, but the general bite feels like a hamburger.

Prof Tara Garnett, head of the Food Policy Research Network at Oxford University, said decision-makers needed to look beyond technological solutions.

"We have a situation where 1.4 billion people in the world are overweight and obese, and at the same time one billion people worldwide go to bed hungry," she said.
"That's just weird and unacceptable. The solutions don't just lie with producing more food but changing the systems of supply and access and affordability, so not just more food but better food gets to the people who need it."

An independent study found that lab-grown beef uses 45% less energy than the average global representative figure for farming cattle. It also produces 96% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires 99% less land.

In a statement, animal welfare campaigners People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said: "[Lab-grown meat] will spell the end of lorries full of cows and chickens, abattoirs and factory farming. It will reduce carbon emissions, conserve water and make the food supply safer."

Source and full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23576143

[CrazyNutz]

Yum petri-burgers!

This is actually pretty awesome.

[Buckeye]

As much as I like beef, pork, chicken etc I can see this kind of thing becoming more and more possible. With the growing number of people on this planet and the demand for food products like this might become more and more acceptable. Maybe at first in some parts of the world where demand is highest then growing in use.

The shear number of cows killed for food + land use and a more controlled way of food production to lower chances of food contamination and other reasons might make this a real possibility.

Not that I would like this, I am just saying is all.

An example: I used to like to go to this place in Reno, NV called the Hickory Pit because at the time they had 1 lb Prime Rib dinners for $9.95. One time I asked the waiter how many sides of beef they went through a night, he said 8 sides of beef. That's 4 cows every night and sometimes more depend on what was going on in Reno. Now multiply that by how many freaking resturants there are in this country. And that's just beef.

[kromosto]

if they can make lab grown japanese wagyu new york stip, t-bone or rib eye it will be great

[lutjens]

While I can appreciate the promise of the work done here, something about it just seems really unappealing. I think the whole premise just seems too Soylent-Green like for my taste...

[Buckeye]

While I can appreciate the promise of the work done here, something about it just seems really unappealing. I think the whole premise just seems too Soylent-Green like for my taste...

I know !

[EniGmA1987]

It is going to be an "interesting" time ahead for the world. All these iinovations in technology are great, until you realize that probably half the major industries providing jobs to the people of the world will soon be gone and those people become unemployed with little to know expertise and experience in anything else. Mass unemployment from creations like this that are all coming to be in the next 10-20 years will also cause mass economic collapse because so many people wont be making money. So cool invention now, hopefully it wont be abused down the line for mass profits to the people controlling the supply. But we all know how realistic that hope is.

[PatRaceTin]

Ahhh let me try one

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

This doesn't sit well with me.

There's something inherently wrong with using cells to produce food in a lab. I think it's that muscle resides in a body that's controlled by hormones and various pathways. Not to mention, the activity of the animal affects muscle tissue. This stuff is just grown. I'll put money on it that the "quality" of this meat is lower than that of free range organic cattle.

Taking those cells out of that equation into an en vitro environment seems strange to me. We have enough food to feed people all over the world. I don't think that's the issue here. The promise of "more food" is just political. Now, if they can use this research to help produce muscle tissue for people who've been injured or use it to further organ cloning, that's awesome.

I wouldn't eat a cloned animal & I certainly wouldn't eat this.

It is going to be an "interesting" time ahead for the world. All these innovations in technology are great, until you realize that probably half the major industries providing jobs to the people of the world will soon be gone and those people become unemployed with little to know expertise and experience in anything else. Mass unemployment from creations like this that are all coming to be in the next 10-20 years will also cause mass economic collapse because so many people wont be making money. So cool invention now, hopefully it wont be abused down the line for mass profits to the people controlling the supply. But we all know how realistic that hope is.

If this becomes the norm (I really hope not), you'll see "specialty farms" who raise cattle for people not wanting cloned meat. You'd probably see other farms convert to labs to produce this stuff or at least move in that direction. I do agree though, many farms will simply go under. Cost is going to drive this technology & that's really sad. There's more to be concerned with than just the bottom line, money wise.

[ryboto]

Grazing animals do not require excess water/fossil fuels to take care of....if you compare this to factory farming, sure it might have benefits. Regardless, the nutritional profile is what worries me...is it leaner than game meat? Lean meat is nice, but I like the fat. Fat is an energy source, protein is not(at least not directly).

[K404]

If this becomes the norm (I really hope not), you'll see "specialty farms" who raise cattle for people not wanting cloned meat. You'd probably see other farms convert to labs to produce this stuff or at least move in that direction. I do agree though, many
farms will simply go under. Cost is going to drive this technology & that's really sad. There's more to be concerned with than just the bottom line, money wise.

Agree 100%. People will want "the real thing" and I am sure a reasonable % of them will be willing to pay for it if it becomes a limited availability product.

Moving on to the bigger pictures and what I think of this personally.

I (and most of the 1st world) have been socially conditioned to eat meat. That's just "how it is." We are also conditioned to eat a lot of massively processed food....because that's "how it is." Especially in snacks, candy, cakes and cheap meat products. I have eaten highly processed meat in sandwiches for lunch for very nearly 20 years simply because the price is ok and I like the taste. I like real meat for dinner. Again, social conditioning. It "feels right" to me. If I buy a microwave (e.g.) carbonara dish, it is full of massively processed meat. Hundreds of thousands of people live off that quality of food. Choice, taste, financial... whatever the reason- they do.

Then, there is the 3rd world. People basically do not have the right to complain about what is put in front of them. Eat or die. Simple decision. Like others, I believe there is already enough food available in the world to feed everyone. Logistics and shelf-life are (I believe) the biggest obstacles.

If these factories can be set up in a location that's handy for refugee camps etc, I am all for it.

If someone told me that these lab burgers were healthier or less unhealthy than the processed meat I eat every. single. day, I would buy it. Packets of cooked meat are utter mank and I know it. Mechanically retrieved from more than one abattoir floor. I know it. I would rather eat something that is 100% as intended than something that's 10% of what it used to be.


I think the bigger challenge is getting vitamins, nutrients into food in a way that's genuinely beneficial. Studies have shown that supplements are significantly less useful than they are when consumed in their "natural form"

[Buckeye]

Cows, chickens, fish etc are feed larges amounts of steroids and other things to make them have larger muscle mass, grow faster etc. We consume this also and I believe that much of this stuff is a cause for many illnesses that we have.

I used to work at a label company here in town and we did labels for products that were used dairy cows and cattle. Some of the stuff was just crazy, like ground up bone meal form the very animal that would be eating this, this has changed tho I believe with the onset of mad cow disease.

I don't know, so much is over done to feed us all. Look at depleting stocks of wild fish and how they just plow the bottom of the ocean to scrap up everything and anything into the nets.

I was just saying that at some point we will have to look at these types of things in order to feed the growing number of people on this planet.

[Linchpin]

Honestly I don't even want to know what's in my food half the time. If eating it doesn't make you sick researching what's in it certainly will. Lose-lose really.

[Lanek]

As much as I like beef, pork, chicken etc I can see this kind of thing becoming more and more possible. With the growing number of people on this planet and the demand for food products like this might become more and more acceptable. Maybe at first in some parts of the world where demand is highest then growing in use.

The shear number of cows killed for food + land use and a more controlled way of food production to lower chances of food contamination and other reasons might make this a real possibility.

Not that I would like this, I am just saying is all.

An example: I used to like to go to this place in Reno, NV called the Hickory Pit because at the time they had 1 lb Prime Rib dinners for $9.95. One time I asked the waiter how many sides of beef they went through a night, he said 8 sides of beef. That's 4 cows every night and sometimes more depend on what was going on in Reno. Now multiply that by how many freaking resturants there are in this country. And that's just beef.

Dont forget to complete this by the astronomical quantity of vegetals producted for feed the animals and who are not producted for feed peoples, and the incredible amount of water used for product meat.
( one 1kg of beef need 70'0000 liters of water ( or 18'492 US gal of water )...

But then.. im not so sure this type of artificial meat are really better for our health. ( lol it remember me the "Soylent Green" movie from 1973 )

[Buckeye]

Then, there is the 3rd world. People basically do not have the right to complain about what is put in front of them. Eat or die. Simple decision. Like others, I believe there is already enough food available in the world to feed everyone. Logistics and shelf-life are (I believe) the biggest obstacles.

Yes and over here in the USA have you seen how much food people waste, good grief. Go into a buffet and people seem to think, it's all you can put on your plate, not all you can eat. Then walk away with half the stuff they took left on the plates. Or it's all you can eat, not stay all day and eat and eat till you pop.

I think I saw in the USA the obesity is something like 36%, maybe higher I don't remember. I believe this a direct result for all the processed food people eat and way to much of it.

A few years ago I was heavy into Herbalife products and had the protein shakes 2 times a day + suppliments, then a healthy dinner at night. I can say that I have not felt better in a long time. My blood pressure and cholesterol levels were very good and that was with no meds. I really should get back into that, maybe some other brands as HB brands do cost a fair amount.

[Lanek]

Same for supermaket, you cant believe the quantity of food they are thrown away ..

K404 point to something totally right.. We product certainly more food needed for everyone, but theres not equity and balance with country who dont have enough food.. We even take their lands, for product for us. ( some parts in Africa today, where Chinese, European and US company product food, but not for thoses country, for pull them back for sell on the occidental markets.) ( many Asia country need now more lands, and they are a lot involved in Africa for got additional lands of production for their own need ).

[Mungri]

Well Id rather eat this than Findus 100% beef burgers containing 70% mystery horse, dog or cat meat.

Ethically to me it seems more correct than raising and killing livestock for food, not worse. If my supermarket or fast food meat was swapped out for this lab grown meat and it tasted the same, it wouldn't bother me at all.

[STEvil]

Dont forget to complete this by the astronomical quantity of vegetals producted for feed the animals and who are not producted for feed peoples, and the incredible amount of water used for product meat.
( one 1kg of beef need 70'0000 liters of water ( or 18'492 US gal of water )...

But then.. im not so sure this type of artificial meat are really better for our health. ( lol it remember me the "Soylent Green" movie from 1973 )

I've raised quite a few cattle in my time and i've got to say that 70,000L is so hilariously wrong I literally almost fell out of my chair when I read it.

Protip: what goes in, comes out.

[Mungri]

Another thing is that if a packet of 4 chicken breasts normally costs $5 (might cost more or less, just an estimate there), but they can make the equivalent amount of same tasting meat in a lab and only charge $1 for it, I'd convert to eating lab grown meat without asking any questions.

Reconstituted meat however is pure nasty.

Same for supermaket, you cant believe the quantity of food they are thrown away ..

K404 point to something totally right.. We product certainly more food needed for everyone, but theres not equity and balance with country who dont have enough food.

This is also true, a lot of people wont even believe how much food is thrown away by supermarkets / restaurants because it becomes illegal to sell or use as animal food after the expiration date, while so many people are starving and they wont just give the food away for free instead of throwing it away.

[HuffPCair]

Well Id rather eat this than Findus 100% beef burgers containing 70% mystery horse, dog or cat meat.

Ethically to me it seems more correct than raising and killing livestock for food, not worse. If my supermarket or fast food meat was swapped out for this lab grown meat and it tasted the same, it wouldn't bother me at all.

First I don't get why people think eating horse is wrong.

Also meat is meat, I rather have it from an animal than grown. People get attached to certain animals and find it wrong for them to be eaten, but in the end that is life. If I was hungry you better bet I am going to be hunting down whatever I can find. Luckily that is not the case and I do not have to kill a cat or dog.


Also you like most people are basing everything off taste which is sad and honestly why most people are out of shape and unhealthy. They rather eat a burger made in 10 seconds than have a healthy meal. I personally do not eat out, all my food is planned and not just straight grease, but that is my choice. Food is an energy source nothing else.

[STEvil]

Another thing is that if a packet of 4 chicken breasts normally costs $5 (might cost more or less, just an estimate there), but they can make the equivalent amount of same tasting meat in a lab and only charge $1 for it, I'd convert to eating lab grown meat without asking any questions.

Reconstituted meat however is pure nasty.



This is also true, a lot of people wont even believe how much food is thrown away by supermarkets / restaurants because it becomes illegal to sell or use as animal food after the expiration date, while so many people are starving and they wont just give the food away for free instead of throwing it away.

I think a lot would, but its illegal..

[Mungri]

Huff I didn't say that eating horse is wrong, but advertising and selling beef, or any other meat and having it made up of horse meat instead was wrong, and I was referencing this case:

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21375594?...g&ved=0CBAQqwQ

And health wise, I don't think there would be much difference between animal meat and lab grown meat, Id actually imagine the latter would be healthier because they could make it leaner with less fat and cholesterol.

[HuffPCair]

Fat is not bad, excessive fat is what is bad. It is all about the types of fats you put in.

Also for healthy or not, that is still in the air, but I will take my chances with what I know works and not what they are guessing on. Nature does a pretty good job controlling this. I have tons of faith in science, but if this was to take off you would have companies like McDonalds taking over with this type of stuff and then all will go down hill, since most you people already eat that stuff and think it is 100% beef, I would not be surprised in what they can do with lab made meat.

[cx-ray]

If that fails there's always this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDvSPQ7megQ

[HuffPCair]

Who does not like eating human poo!