Cultured Meat
The future of food?
The food choices we make are influenced by many factors, including cost, availability, ethical issues and environmental concerns. This is reflected in the range of foods available from meat-free alternatives to local, free-range or ethically farmed options.
With climate change having a greater impact on our lives, how can science contribute to the challenge of sustainable food for the planet? One new technology is cultured (or cultivated) meat which could be on our plates within a few years.
So what is cultured meat?
- Cells are grown into different tissue types in labs
- Animals are not kept or killed during production
- Answers animal welfare and environmental concerns
- Cultured meats being developed include chicken, beef, lamb and even seafood!
It's still early days, and a lot of work will be needed to scale-up production and improve existing technologies to make affordable products for supermarkets within the next few years.
This page was built by Helen Bell