Sometime in the not too distant future,... we may not need to get our meat in the traditional
way, by slaughtering animals.
We may be able to grow it in a petri dish.
Kim Min-ji reports on the world's first lab-grown meat patty -- and gives us an idea of what
people really think about the taste and texture.
The world's first test-tube burger has been unveiled to the public.
With features similar to a regular meat patty,...
this artificial patty is actually produced from 20-thousand tiny strips of laboratory-grown
meat,... combined with other ingredients such as salt, bread crumbs and egg powder.
Red beet juice and saffron have also been added to give the meat its color.
Scientist-turned-chef Professor Mark Post from Maastricht University in the Netherlands
produced the synthetic meat,... which cost an outstanding 325-thousand U.S. dollars to
produce,... as part of a project aimed at showing that meat grown in laboratories can
reduce environmental impact and meet the growing demand for meat.
Critics who tasted the meat at an event in London, said that it tasted close to meat,
but wasn't as juicy as they'd expected.
"I was expecting the texture to be more soft...
There is quite some intense taste, it's close to meat, but it's not that juicy.
The consistency is perfect, but I miss salt and pepper."
One critic waxed on about the experience of sampling the futuristic food.
"The texture, the mouth feel has, a feel like meat, the, what Hani was just saying, the
absence of I feel like the fat.
It's a leanness to it, but the bite you know feels like a conventional hamburger."
Professor Post believes that his new creation could bring about a revolution in the artificial
meat market,... with food products such as his appearing in supermarkets in less than
a decade.
"The texture is very similar, slightly different, because the fibers are smaller.
It's very, very similar, and the taste is good, it tastes like meat.
It's not quite there, but it's getting there, and this is a very good start for future improvement."
The World Health Organization says meat production is expected to rise 376 million tons by 2030,
and demand for meat from the global population is likely to exceed production.
Professor Post's creation will likely pave new roads in food production, as the stem
cells from one animal can produce a million times more meat than the meat from the same
animal ever could.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.