The world of fake meat and meat alternatives gets interesting

In a detailed article published in The Guardian recently, it was been reported that the race to produce the world’s first lab-produced meat is quickening. A 57-year old vegan Professor, Patrick Brown, has been working on creating synthesised meat and dairy products for two years in an industrial estate just south of San Francisco in the USA. His approach is to manipulate plant material to create a meat-replica. “I have zero interest in making a new food just for vegans,” he said. “I am making a food for people who are comfortable eating meat and who want to continue eating meat. I want to reduce the human footprint on this planet by 50%.” Already on the shelves (though not for long) was Beyond Meat’s new “Veggie Chicken Strips”. The Whole Foods chain in Northern California reported that a week’s supply of the vegetable protein sold out in just two days . New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman was impressed, saying “the way it shreds is amazing”. On describing it in a burrito he added, “you won’t know the difference between that and chicken. I didn’t, at least, and this is the kind of thing I do for a living.” Meanwhile over in The Netherlands, having secured private investment funding as well as government funding, a 54-year old vascular biologist at the University of Maastricht, Dr Mark Post, has been attempting to produce ‘in-vitro’ meat – actual meat – in a factory, from animal muscle tissue. Back in 2008, PETA announced a $1 million prize for the first laboratory to use chicken cells to create test tube meat if the product were commercially viable by June 30, 2012. While there are just days to go until PETA evaluates offerings so far, the rules state February 28, 2016 as the cutoff for achieving the commercial sales goal. With awareness increasing about how our food choices can impact the planet, and cause suffering to billions of animals each year, such developments in the world of fake meat look promising.