Can you imagine eating meat with a clear conscience, knowing that no animal had to die so that you could eat it. This imagination will soon become reality thanks to cultured meat. This meat is produced by in vitro cultivation of animal cells, instead of from slaughtered animals. It is a form of cellular agriculture. In vitro muscle fibre cultivation itself began as early as the 1970s. However, not until recently has technology advanced so much that soon it will not be necessary for animals to die so that people can eat meat.
Slaughter-free meat
Many people all around the world are fans of cultured met, which is oftentimes referred to as “clean, cell-based or slaughter-free meat”. During a 2017 research conducted in the USA, results showed that approximately half of the respondents would not mind buying cultivated meat if the quality was the same as the quality of regular meat. Cultivated meat is also very popular among celebrities, who have invested a lot of money into the research, like Bill Gates and Richard Branson.
The main advantages of cultured meat
Cultured meat has many advantages and sparing the lives of animals is only one of them. Feeding the whole animal in order to get part of its body is a considerably ineffective process. These methods are not sustainable for the long run given the growing population.
Sceptics and the possible disadvantages
Some people cannot imagine that this kind of meat will penetrate onto the market and compete with the already established animal industry. So far, growing cultured meat seems unrealistic especially for our small agricultural businesses and farms. Therefore, it is assumed that this will primarily remain in the hands of large corporations. However, supporters do not see any obstacle in cultured meat being sold on the market right next to the regular meat.
Every consumer can decide which meat he / she wants to buy. Cultured meat should be launched onto the market after 2021. This kind of meat is not yet available to the public. The production of cultured meat is still being perfected, so it can be expected that the quality will be better and the difference between this kind of meat and regular meat will be negligible to none.
Source: realfarmacy.com/scientists-say-lab-grown-cultured-meat-is-safe-would-you-eat-it/, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultured_meat
