The world is moving away from red meat. Slowly, but surely the message is spreading – agriculture is extremely damaging to the environment. Carbon footprint of beef is too big to justify and the human population is still growing, which is why we will need more and more food. The good news is that there are several companies producing lab-grown meat. For example, Israeli MeaTech 3D has just made what is probably the world’s largest lab-grown steak to date.
This 104 gram steak doesn't look like much, but it is likely the largest lab-grown beef steak made to date. Image credit: Shlomi Arbiv, MeaTech 3D.
MeaTech 3D is just one of the players in this new market. And to be fair, lab-grown meat is still not competitively priced to actually compete against the natural meat products. However, the first steps are already made and this tree is already bearing fruit.
MeaTech 3D has just announced that they’ve made a 104 gram steak, which is likely the largest lab-grown meat steak in the world. Of course, this unofficial title is not going to stand for long, since there are numerous companies ready to enter this new market, which is likely to reach billions of dollars of worth in a decade or so.
That steak is actual meat – it is not some kind of plant product. The process starts with separating beef stem cells. They are cultivated and multiplied. Then they are transformed into a bio-ink, which is then used in the company’s 3D printers. Yes, you’ve read that right – the steak was printed. It was then placed in an incubator to mature, where the printed stem cells were differentiated into fat and muscle cells. Finally, the MeaTech steak was prepared like any other piece of meat.
This steak contained no soy or pea protein. It is literally just a normal steak of fat and muscle tissue. Even the texture should be familiar to the meat lovers. But, of course, the process still needs some improvements.
MeaTech 3D started its work in 2019 and maintains facilities in Ness Ziona, Israel and Antwerp, Belgium. Interestingly, the company is not riding on eco-friendliness alone. They are promising to solve some supply chain issues as well as introduce new meat products into the market. 3D printing offers a lot of flexibility in that regard. However, before you start looking for MeaTech 3D you need to know that the company is still improving the process and it will take some time for a commercial product to be released.
And yes, of course, 104 gram steak is not large. Eating it would not solve your stomach problems and you would still be hungry. However, this is just one step in the long battle to make lab-grown meat accessible, cheap and clean. And it is a good step to take.
Source: MeaTech 3D