Lab-grown meat has been listed as one of the “worst technology failures” of 2023, according to a review assessment by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The review stated that the “humane idea” behind the process of lab-grown meat is that instead of killing animals for food, they can be manufactured in a laboratory vat instead.
The problem with this, according to MIT, is making lab-grown meat on a large scale.
MIT used Upside Foods, a startup, based in Berkeley, California as an example to showcase the ongoing issues.
It said that the company was “showing off rows of big, gleaming steel bioreactors”, but that it was “a bird in borrowed feathers”.
The MIT review states that when journalists visited the site, they found it was growing chicken skin cells in much smaller laboratory flasks.
Thin layers of cells were then being manually scooped up and pressed into chicken pieces, using much labour, plastic and energy for only a small amount of meat production, according to MIT.
Lab-grown meat
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lab-grown meat for human consumption for the first time ever in November 2022.
Approval was then granted for the sale of lab-grown meat by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in June 2023.
At the time, VP of product and regulation for Upside Foods, Dr. Eric Schulze said: “Today marks the commencement of a new meat industry.
“Humans have uniquely molded plants and animals into our global food system. Billions rely upon this system for food, and billions more will. Today, animal cell cultivation now joins this great human tradition.”
Upside Foods
Upside Foods was founded in 2015 with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of meat production.
The company starts its production process by taking a sample of primary cells from a chicken or fertilised egg.
From the sample, the team selects ideal cells for developing a commercial cell line.
The winning cells are chosen based on their ability to produce high-quality meat and grow predictably and consistently.
Once the cell line is established, the company said it is able to draw from it for years – if not decades – to come, which reduces the need to take additional cell samples from animals.
Once Upside Foods has the cell line, the meat production process can begin.
The cells and cell feed are placed in a cultivator, which maintains the right temperature and oxygen levels for the cells to grow and multiply.
After around three weeks in the cultivators, the tissue is ready to harvest.