In+Vitro+Meat

toc  In Vitro meat production is the culturing of meat through a variety of forms of [|tissue engineering technology] associated with regenerative medicine. Grown in a laboratory instead of inside animals, this synthetic meat might some day be a commercially viable form of cellular agriculture [1]. The cells are taken from live animals and then placed into a [|culture media] in which the cells begin to grow independently from the animal [2]. This potential of in vitro meat offers the possibility for “victimless” meat production, but it has been questioned if the public will accept cultured meat over conventionally produced meat. As this technology is still in its beginning phases, it has encountered both technical and social challenges in production and has therefore not yet become commercialized. If in vitro meat is accepted by the public, it could have economic, financial, and environmental advantages over conventional meat production [3]. =History =

Origination
In vitro meat growth techniques were first approved by the FDA in 1995 after a request from [|NASA] as it sought to initiate a search for a new food source of long space voyages [3]. In 1999, [|Willem van Eelen] secured the first cultured meat patent for a process in vitro meat production. This new technique did not require the limited natural sources necessary for conventional meat production. He sought to develop a form of production that was free of substances hazardous to humans, and that could also operate on an industrial scale [4]. However, while the people previously mentioned were the first to take real action in the production of cultured meat, even Winston Churchill predicted the same concept. In an essay in the 1930s titled [|“Fifty Years Hence,”] Churchill predicted: “we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium” [5].

The first international [|conference] on cultured meat production took place in April 2008 at the Food Research Institute in Norway. The attendees gathered to discuss the possibility of commercializing in vitro meat. One year later, scientists from the Netherlands announced the creation of the first in vitro meat grown in a laboratory using cells from a live pig [3].

Currently over 30 laboratories around the world are working on cultured meat research [6].

Global Meat Demand
Recent predictions state that the demand for meat will increase 73% by 2050 as a result of "[|growing population], [|rising affluence], and [|urbanization] across the world" [1][7]. At these rates, it is unlikely conventional meat production will be able to satisfy the growing demands even with "incremental innovations in livestock management" as shown below [1]. 

Even with measures such as voluntary abstinence from meat consumption, as well as several other efforts to combat meat shortage issues, the efforts provide only short term mitigation of the burden of conventional meat production rather than offering a permanent solution. This is why researchers have proposed in vitro meat production as a complex, but alternative solution, for creating meat [7].

First public trial
In a 2013 news conference in London, a lab-grown burger became the first cultured meat cooked and eaten to highlight some of the possibilities for synthetic meat. The meat was generated by a professor, Mark Post, who took stem cells from a cow, grew them into strips of muscle, and then combined those strips to create the burger. When tasted by critics [|Hanni Ruetzler] and Josh Schonwald, they found only minor differences in taste and flavor [8]. However, even after cultivating 20,000 strips of muscle tissue and spending almost $300,000 for the proof of principle demonstration, pundits predict it will be at least a decade before in vitro meat is commercially viable [9].

**Production**

Starter Cells
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Currently, [|stem cells] are the most promising source for tissue engineered meat, due mainly to their ability to divide indefinitely. However, there are difficulties with stem cells that essentially have not yet committed to what they will become, which puts production at a potential disadvantage because very specific cells are needed for in vitro meat [10]. Alternatively, [|muscle cells] could be used because they are already committed to what they will become, but they multiply very slowly [1]. Ideally, cells would be used that proliferate at an adequate rate, and that are sufficiently differentiated from other cell types [11].

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Growth Medium
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While in vitro meat production does have the potential ability to help society meet the high demands for meat, it is necessary to find a [|growth medium] that is both cost effective and free from animal ingredients. Among other challenges, the growth medium must directly supply the cells with what they need because cultured meat cannot receive inputs processed from digestive organs that help to generate the meat that a normal animal would [12]. Additionally, there is need for 'scaffolding" for the cells to attach themselves to in order to grow and produce three-dimensional in vitro meat [10]. Ideally, the scaffolding would be edible. Furthermore, an ideal scaffold shift or move upon stimulation, in order to mimic the normal movements an animal makes when it stretches the muscle cells [12].

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bioreactor
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The [|bioreactor] is a component of the cultured meat process that brings everything together; the cells, the growth medium, and the scaffolding. An ideal environment can be created in the bioreactor to provide the components with temperature changes and movement training [12].

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Differences from conventional meat =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meat Composition
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While meat provides essential nutrients, there are also downsides because [|lipid] components (such as fat and cholesterol) increase the risk of diseases such as [|Diabetes], [|Cardio Vascular Disease], and [|cancer.] The health risks, however, do depend on both the source of meat and the production conditions. In contrast, IMPS has the ability to engineer the biochemical composition of meat which could have significant positive effects on public health [13]. For instance, in vitro meat has the ability to modify the ratio of [|omega 6 and omega 3] fatty acids by altering the DNA of the cells through the "In Vitro Meat Production System" (IMPS) [7]. Modifications such as this mean meat could be engineered to facilitate benefits for public health nutrition [13]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meat food based infection
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over time, IMPS could help reduce infection health risks when compared to the risks from traditionally grown meats. Many animals slaughtered for meat originate from poultry farms that create ideal environments for contagious agents that could be spread and thereby raise serious health concerns across the globe. Additionally, [|antibiotics] and other drugs are commonly used to promote animal growth, which can lead to human health hazards such as antibiotic resistance as well as concerns surrounding "feed formulations including animal tissues, arsenic... plus the occupational health risks and risks for nearby communities" [7]. In contrast, IMPS has the ability to limit these issues because no "factory farming or drug feeding" is necessary when culturing meat in a lab [7].

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The conventional model of meat production requires the upbringing, feeding, housing, and slaughtering of animals in order to produce food. In vitro meat production, however, suggests the reality of cultivating meat without the violence. There are predictions that in vitro meat production could have “the same effect of reducing animal suffering and/or slaughter as converting everyone to vegetarianism” [14]. With this kind of potential for IMPS, advocacy groups (e.g. [|People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] (PETA)) have offered a $1 million prize to the first group able to produce marketable in vitro meat [15].

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Additionally, environmentalists may have a strong stake in supporting in vitro meat because current animal farming methods account for a large percentage of pollution and resources. Omitting the use of plows, [|pesticides] and pollutants (e.g. [|greenhouse gases]) IMPS to pose a much lower threat to the environment when compared to traditional methods [14].

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Public Opinion =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A study seeking data on the attitudes toward in vitro meat found that while most people are willing to try in vitro meat, only one-third of those individuals were willing to eat in vitro meat on a regular basis [15]. Of concern for the public are an anticipated high price, insufficient taste, and appeal, and concern for the naturalness of the product [16]. Despite these concerns, some see in vitro meat as an inevitable part of the future and see that IMPOS could potentially be a safer, more sustainable, and disease free solution to conventional meat production.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As to public opinion, "[|clean meat]" is another name given to "[|cultured meat]." The "clean meat" level is preferred by some advocates of the new technology who see the benefits of the IMPS meat similarly to the idea of "[|clean energy]." However, according to Friedrich, "it is no more accurate to say that clean meat is "lab grown" than it is to say that Cheerios and commercial peanut butter are "lab created."" Some argue that using the term clean meat instead of cultured meat produces the key benefits by promoting desired goals with "clarity and acceptability." Fostering favorable opinions will be a key challenge for those seeking to commercialize this innovative technology [17].

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">References =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[1] J. Post, "Cultured beef: medical technology to produce food," Science of Food and Agriculture, vol. 94, no. 6, pp.1039-1041, 2013. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[2] R. Ross, "Growth of Smooth Muscle in Culture and Formation of Elastic Fibers," The Journal of Cell Biology, vol 50, no 1, pp.172, 1971. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[3] Z.F. Bhat, S. Kumar, and H.F. Bhat, "In vitro meat: A future animal-free harvest," Food Science and Nutrition, vol 57, no. 4, pp.782-789, 2017. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[4] W. Van Eelen et al., "Industrial scale production of meat from (in vitro) cell cultures." European Patent WO 99/31222, June 24, 1999. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[5] H. Keyser. (2014, Dec.). Winston Churchill's 1932 Predictions for 50 Years Hence, [Online]. Available: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://mentalfloss.com/article/60482/winston-churchills-1932-predictions-50-years-hence <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[6] D. Flynn. (2012, Jan.). Lab Grown Meat? $1 Million Reward Deadline Nears, [Online]. Available: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/peta-offers-1-million-for-successful-lab-grown-chicken/#.WQpVdVe9F-U <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[7] S. Sharma, S.S. Thind, and A. Kaur, "In vitro meat production system: why and how?" Journal of Food Science and Technology, vol 52, no. 12, pp. 7599-7607. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[8] M. Stone. (2016, May) The Future will be full of Lab Grown Meat, [Online]. Available: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://gizmodo.com/the-future-will-be-full-of-lab-grown-meat-1720874704 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[9] H. Fountain. (2013, Aug.) A Lab-Grown Burger Gets a Taste Test, [Online]. Available: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/science/a-lab-grown-burger-gets-a-taste-test.html <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[10] M. Langelaan et al., Meet the new meat: tissue engineered skeletal muscle," Trends in Food Science & Technology, vol 21, no. 2, pp.59-66. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[11] M. Pandurangan and D.H. Kim, "A novel approach for in vitro meat production," Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol 99, no. 13, pp. 5391-5395. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[12] Future Food (2016, Feb.) Cultured Meat, [Online]. Available: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.futurefood.org/in-vitro-meat/index_en.php <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[13] L. Laestadius and M. Caldwell, "Is the future of meat palatable? perceptions of in vitro meat as evidenced by online news comments," Public Health Nutrition, vol. 18, no.13, pp. 2457-2467 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[14] G.O. Schaefer and J. Savulescu, "The Ethics of Producing In Vitro Meat," Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol.31, no.2, pp.188-202. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[15] M. Wilks and C. Phillips, "Attitudes to in vitro meat: A Survey of potential consumers in the United States," PLoS One, vol.12, no.2. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[16] W. Verbeke, P. Sans, and E.J. Van Loo, "Challenges and prospects for consumer acceptance of cultured meat," Journal of Integrative Agriculture, vol.14, no.2, pp. 285-294. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[17] B. Friedrich (2016, Sept.) "Clean Meat": the "Clean Energy" of food, [Online] Available: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.gfi.org/clean-meat-the-clean-energy-of-food