Researchers try to grow pork in petri dish
Researchers at the Utrecht University in the Netherlands are attempting to grow pork meat in a laboratory in order to eliminate the need to raise and slaughter animals for food, thus helping the environment.
According to Bernard Roelen, a veterinary science professor at the university, by replacing meat harvested from livestock the need for animal feed, transport, land use and the methane expelled by animals, all of which are bad for the environment, are eliminated.
When asked if he thought the consumer was ready for lab-grown meat, Roelen said, that he could image that some people may have a problem with it, but he believed that there would be enough demand.
“People might think it is artificial. But some people might not realise that some part of the meat they eat is artificial.”
So far Roelen and his team have managed to grow only thin layers of cells. They have yet to figure out how to layer the tissues to add more bulk, not to mention fat for flavour.
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