For years scientists and the government have been trying to lower carbon emissions to help the environment. Many of the projects trying to do this are aimed at the automotive industry. The emissions from trucks, planes and cars are being debated and discussed. But there is a source of emissions that creates more that all of them together, nearly 1/5 of the human population’s emissions according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
That source is meat consumption.
Now before the carnivores and omnivores in the audience get incensed, this article is not to promote vegetarianism. And vegetarians, it is not to discuss the suggestion of a PETA funded scientist who suggested that Australians could help with the issue by eating kangaroos.
Instead, there has been some movement for a scientific alternative: lab grown meat. Last month SEED Magazine interviewed Jason Matheny of New Harvest, a non-profit aimed at discovering and funding lab grown, or in-vitro, meat.
This meat is made with cells, either stem or myoblast (precursor to muscle). These are placed in a medium of a nutritious mix that is the biochemical equivalent of blood. These cells are then fused using energy, either mechanical or electricity. This process takes a few weeks, and produces the equivalent of a ground meat.
This process may seem unnatural, and students may think of this as science fiction. But everyday foods like cheese or yogurt are bio-tech products. Students can learn about food science for themselves using our Cheese Making Kit. Or you can discuss this generally in terms of the power of science, and the things scientists can accomplish.
Right now this idea, while being accomplished in small quantities in labs, is not yet commercially viable. But that may change, and science educators may now be teaching the young scientist who could develop it.
