ARTIFICIAL MEAT OR IN-VITRO MEAT

Dr. Mark Post

Researchers at University of Maastricht, Netherlands,  are close to making artifcial meat or 'in-vitro' meat. Earlier the scientists have grown synthetic sausages from pig cells fed by horse serum. Now they are ready to move onto cow cells. Dr. Mark Post, Dutch scientist who led the research,  hopes other lab grown meat to be made. Invitro or cultured meat is a real animal flesh product, but has never been part of a complete, living animal. So, it is not the same as other meat substitutes aimed at vegetarians which are made from vegetable proteins like soy.The research would cost over $ 350,000 to develop the artificial meat.  Artificially grown meat is considered environmentally friendly, as well as saving millions of animals from being slaughtered .

The scientists will be able to grow only white meat as they do not contain any blood. Whether it will be tasty and nutritious enough for consumers is yet to be known. Dutch food scientists are the latest group of researchers to work on developing slaughter free meat.

Though consumers are alienated from the method of food production, legends and stories have always been circulating over several years that, fast food chain has already been serving us meat from 'genetically engineered' animal parts that lack heads or hearts. Have you heard such things too?

Food for thought - what are your views?

* Would you choose to consume artificial meat?
* Would you stop eating fast food if you came to know the source is artificial meat?
* Would you prefer artificial meat to support slaughter free meat?
* Do you believe as long as its tasty and it feels like meat, it shouldn't really matter.
* How would this artificial  meat affect our health and well being? Would it harm in the long run?