The first international tube meat seminar was held in Norway. A report published at the conference pointed out that after setting a series of technical standards, artificially produced meat may be placed on supermarket shelves in the near future and compete with consumers for traditional meat. The Spanish "Digital News" published an article on the 13th, saying that in 2003, when several scientists proposed for the first time that large quantities of artificial meat were produced for human consumption, it seemed to be a science fiction story. At present, experts plan to bring it to market for the first time.
Experts believe that this kind of “cultivated†meat may solve more important human challenges in the future, such as population growth, and the environmental impact of the expansion of animal husbandry.
The United Nations is very interested in the development of this technology because, according to its estimation, the world’s population will increase from the current 6.2 billion to 9 billion in the next 40 years. By then, the living materials will not be able to satisfy everyone’s needs.
The report estimates that the cost of artificial meat is approximately EUR 3,500 per tonne, while the price of chicken without a government subsidy per ton is 1,800 euros. This price can enable artificial meat to win a part of the market.
For this reason, the meat processing industry in the future must overcome many challenges, such as improving technology and taking measures against the concept of consumers. Consumers may have reservations about purchasing this meat.
In a new meat factory, muscle tissue is cultivated in a vessel called a "bioreactor." Meat may have to grow in such large containers for several weeks.
The cultivation of artificial meat begins with the first single cell. The next cell will split into thousands of new cells until it produces enough muscle tissue. People can eat this kind of meat without danger.
Scientists at the Norwegian seminar believe that most people have not yet prepared to eat this test tube meat psychologically. In fact, according to their estimates, a considerable portion of the costs of this emerging industry will be used for promotional activities in order to make people realize the benefits of this meat: without disease, the pollution caused by its production process is small, and it is not It will cause pain to animals.
People feel that this meat is not "natural". Some experts, such as American engineer Paul Kosnike, believe that this test tube meat is not as natural as yogurt. He said that making this kind of meat "is like putting 100,000 chickens in jars and injecting a lot of antibiotics into them."
The appearances of artificial meat and traditional meat that have been developed are still far away. A traditional piece of meat is made up of muscle, fat, and connective tissue, and its complex structure cannot be duplicated in a petri dish.
It is worth mentioning that the experts attending the seminar have not personally tried the results of their research and development in the laboratory.