Coming Soon: Synthetic Meat

A project that has been running for over six years, Dr. Mark Post from the University of Maastricht has been working on creating synthetic meat and has finally succeeded. Post released this photo of a 2cm piece of muscle that will over time become a piece of edible meat. He said that in the beginning it will taste bland, but as the experiment ensues they will work on flavor.

Why the fake meat? I wondered the same thing. Post's answer is sustainability. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030 annual meat production levels will reach 367 million tons. Post says that synthetic meat can be engineered to be "healthier" than the real stuff, too, because there is no risk of E.Coli or BSE. Cholesterol levels would be dramatically decreased, and other essential vitamins and minerals could be added to production.

It's said that synthetic meat won't actually be released or mass produced for another 10-20 years, but Post says he'll have his first complete burger sample by October.

I mean, I get where they're coming from, but me? I'll take one of these instead...

(Yes, that's Vermont's Best Burger, the Scibec Sizzler.)


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Image 1 via Digital Trends, image 2 via The Shopping Bag Inc Facebook page.