DailyDirt: Test Tube Meat Fresh From The Lab
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Some folks just don't like the idea of killing animals for food, but clearly there are plenty of people who don't have a problem with eating meat. Technology might have an answer -- if meat grown in a lab can be considered a humane way to treat living tissues. Here are just a few attempts at making fake meat.- Modern Meadow is a biotech startup growing meat and leather in a lab. The company can grow a 1-square-foot, flawless (no scratches or stretch marks) piece of leather in about 6 weeks, and it's made some "steak chips" that will probably need to pass some complex regulatory hurdles before being ready for general human consumption. [url]
- Impossible Foods is a company that has made a veggie burger that almost bleeds because it contains iron-containing heme compounds similar to those in real red meat. The fake burger apparently tastes like a cross between beef and turkey, with a texture that is nearly like animal tissue (or at least not much like tofu). Still, it costs about $20 per burger patty, so there's a bit more work to be done. [url]
- Hampton Creek Foods is creating a vegan egg that could replace factory-farmed eggs. Beyond Eggs (and its fellow meat substitute competitors) need to find just the right proteins and emulsifiers that can fool the human palate and also maintain an eco-friendly and sustainable reputation. [url]
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: biotech, fake meat, food, gmo, murderless meat, steak chips, vegan, vegan egg, veggie burger
Companies: beyond eggs, hampton creek foods, impossible foods, modern meadow
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
The vegetarians found them repulsive: they not only don't desire things that are meat-like, they are actively disgusted by them. It made me wonder about who the target market of the restaurant was and how viable the idea really is as a business.
Two of my children, through marriage, are vegetarian and they confirmed the problem: they actively dislike meat. They have no interest in vegetarian food that resembles meat. That's gross to them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]