The World's First Lab-Grown Burger

By Hum
in Science News & Discussion

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Hum

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The world's first test-tube hamburger, made from lab-grown meat, will be served in London next Monday, August 5.

The 5-ounce burger, created by Mark Post from Maastrict University in the Netherlands, will be fed to an unknown diner whose reaction will be seen in front an invitation-only crowd.

Post isn't pursuing this project because he's a mad scientist. His ultimate goal is to develop a sustainable source of food that will meet the ever-growing demand for meat without destroying and depleting the limited resources on Earth.

First, muscle stem cells are harvested from the cow through a biopsy.

From there, it's raised like any other living creature. Scientists feed it a steady diet of sugars, fats, amino acids, and minerals.

The one-inch strand of muscle is also exercised.

According to the scientist, the muscle is stretched between two anchor points. "Its innate tendency to contract causes it to put on bulk, growing into small chunks of meat," they write. "Three thousand of these small chunks of meat are then fused together to create one normal-sized hamburger.

The muscle is a grayish-white color due to lack of blood cells.

However, Post plans to employ already accepted food technology methods to improve its appearance, taste, and texture to make it a bit more appetizing.

It currently costs around $384,000 to produce one hamburger. :|

 

Years ago, NASA began experimenting with lab-grown meat so that astronauts might eventually have a new source of food for long space voyages.

In 2008, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced a $1 million reward for the first person to develop a commercially viable lab-grown meat.

Scientists all over the world are working on ways to earn that prize.

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