BY: CAROLINE ROLF
Just as the car industry abolished the horse and buggy with a motor, this company plans to put a stop to the meat industry… with meat. When it comes to making decisions, society is quick to choose comfort and convenience over sustainability. So if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. These innovators have grown meat so that soon, you won’t have to think twice before biting into a juicy bacon-wrapped cheeseburger.
Cultured meat, which is meat grown outside a live animal, will make its debut tomorrow, February 4th, in San Francisco. It is here that the founders of Memphis Meats will present a new kind of farming, one that provides the same delicious meat we so often crave—without the environmental drawbacks and health risks.
The environment is put under massive strain as 10 billion animals are consumed annually. It requires 2,500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of meat and the farming emits more greenhouse gasses than all cars, trucks and planes combined. While generating one calorie from beef requires 23 calories in feed, Memphis Meats plans to produce a calorie of meat from only three calories in inputs. The company’s products will be made without antibiotics, fecal matter, pathogens, and other contaminants found in conventional meat. The director of The Good Food Institute explains that, “Cultured meat is sustainable, creates far fewer greenhouse gases than conventional meat, is safer, and doesn’t harm animals. For people who want to eat meat, cultured meat is the future.”
Sure, it may look like an ordinary meatball. The texture, the aroma, the savoury taste, it’s just like an ordinary meatball. But really it’s so much more – this meatball is the future.
Memphis Meats has grown real meat in small portions using the cells from cows, pigs and chickens. Their products, ranging from hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and of course meatballs, represent a revolution in agriculture, food safety and environmental sustainability.
In less than five years, the future of meat could be on the shelves of our grocery stores. Cultured meat will replace our notions of meat and making raising animals for slaughter simply unthinkable. If your taste buds prefer a colourless Tofurky patty, you can swallow knowing you reject the pointless suffering of animals. For those who still consider themselves meat lovers, this could mean you won’t need to sacrifice your favourite meal for a bountiful future.
Image sourcing:kk.no, memphismeats.com