In-vitro meat: A solution for problems of meat production and meat consumption?

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: July 24, 2017 | Revision accepted: October 19, 2017

Introduction

The question of future nutrition is the focus of public discourse, particularly with regard to the prognosis of a growing world population [1]. The discussion is about how we can make our current diet sustainable. Considerations of the topic of “meat” are inevitable in this context.

It is evident that today’s meat production and meat consumption are having a negative impact on the environment, human health, and animal welfare, and are exacerbating the issue of world hunger. For instance, worldwide livestock farming is contributing 18% of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly through CO2 from slash-and-burn clearing of (tropical) forests for feed cultivation and grazing land, nitrous oxide from fertilizers used for feed cultivation, and methane from the digestive tracts of ruminants [2]. If global trends in the consumption of animal products continue, the global mean temperature will rise by more than 2 °C, even if emissions from non-agricultural sectors are drastically reduced [3].

Abstract

In 2013, Mark Post and his colleagues at the University of Maastricht presented the first cultured meat (in-vitromeat) burger made from bovine stem cells. The technological innovation is intended to offer a possibility of reducing or even eliminating the negative effects of current meat production and meat consumption on humans, animals, and the environment. Large scale production, however, is not yet possible, and the question remains whether cultured meat will be able to keep what the developers promise.
The following article¹ deals with this question, addressing the results of expert and stakeholder interviews as well as participative processes that were carried out in a project at the Institut für Technikfolgenabschätzung und Systemanalyse (Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis = ITAS). Among other aspects, the manufacturing process, possible impact on the environment, animals and humans, consumer acceptance, as well as the subsidy of research and development of cultured meat will be discussed. Cultured meat presents an interesting alternative to conventional meat production, although many questions are as yet unanswered, particularly with regard to technical feasibility and ethical as well as social aspects.
 More research is essential; the search for a sustainable alternative to current meat production should, however, also involve other approaches such as ecological agriculture.

Keywords: cultured meat, meat consumption, food technology, world nutrition, animal ethics, sustainable nutrition

¹ The article is based on a talk given at the “LGL Gespräche zu Lebensmittelsicherheit und Verbraucherschutz” (LGL meeting on food safety and consumer protection) on July 10, 2017 at the Bayerische Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety) in Oberschleißheim/ Germany.

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