Factory-Made Meat?

Factory-Made Meat?

Here’s some news that might turn a few meat eaters into strict vegetarians.

In past e-Alerts I’ve told you about unappealing meat preparation methods, such as irradiation (killing bacteria with radiation) and modified atmosphere packaging (improving the color of meat with carbon monoxide).

But those dubious processing techniques seem quaintly old-fashioned compared to an up and coming process in which meat is grown in factory farms.

In 2001, NASA began funding in vitro meat farming. After scientists succeeded in growing goldfish muscle in a lab, a Dutch sausage company ramped up more ambitious experiments that have led to factory production of meat grown from pig stem cells.

Just one problem: Factory-made muscle tissue is gooey. Muscle tissue from livestock is firm because it’s constantly flexed while the animals are alive. So to keep factory-made muscle from having the texture of pudding, the tissue is grown on racks that expand and contract to simulate flexing.

When HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., sent me the article about this new mystery meat, he wrote: “Ahh, my mouth’s watering jus’ thinkin’ about it”