In vitro meat. The meat of the future is already here

The meat of the future in the present .

We consume too much meat and too much of everything, in general. That is why experts assure that this level is unsustainable for our planet.

There are already numerous meat alternatives to slow down the production chain that we live, for example the Basque firm Biotech food that was born two years ago and was the pioneer in commercializing this new method of “creation” and production of meat.

His product “Ethica meat” – Ethical meat will allow us to consume these products in the future without sacrificing animals.

What Biotech Food does is to take a small part of the animal’s muscle and isolate the muscle cells, which are the ones that produce the animal protein and put them in an aqueous medium with more proteins, mineral salts and water. Basically. In this way a tissue is formed that continues to grow and proliferate within a bioreactor.

This type of cultured meat is found in the form of sausages, meatballs and Nuggets , but a priori not in a steak .

Will we then be before the flesh of the future?

All this starts from a revolutionary technological process of tissues that tries to transfer medical techniques to the food sector.

This new advance is not intended to unseat the livestock industry, (which for now is also practically unthinkable and they do not compete in the same market), if not as another alternative, especially with a long-term path.

Where is the meat of the future?

For now, very few companies in the world choose or allocate their R&D resources in this sector. Spain, USA and Holland are some of the few that are among these.

This is because they are quite expensive techniques , so to achieve the common objective it is important to set a long-term date and seek large-scale strategies to achieve tangible benefits and results.

 Is there fish from the future?

There are projects that go beyond trying to replace or reformulate veal meat and try the same with fish.

We recently spoke about aquaculture , an alternative that could be the solution to the global depletion of fishing grounds, but it will have to face several challenges, including environmental ones.

But other options for aquaculture are also being developed. An American start up artificially cultivates various types of fish although they are mainly focused on bluefin tuna.

They take the high quality fish and isolate a few cells, come on, the same process that I mentioned about Biotech food but applied to fish.

The cells grow in alembics within their facilities and ensure that with fish this process is much easier than with meat, since the structure of the fish is simpler and the meat has more complex textures.

What will the restaurants of the future be like?

It is rumored that behind all this there is a strong idea to create limited quantities of this product in restaurants by the end of this year 2019 . Fineless food, for example, is based on the advantage that this will have in reducing the amount of mercury and plastic in fish.

Among all these projects is Memphis meat, which is responsible for applying this methodology to chicken meat , Creek , which does the same with foie gras , Perfect Day with dairy products and Clara Food with eggs .

Is this the only way to supply our planet?

Taking into account that in 2017 322 tons of meat were produced worldwide, this is expected to increase in the future to a significant extent, but there is 33% of arable land dedicated to global livestock.

The idea is to reduce animal slaughter and keep those that are in better condition, since cattle make up 7% of what we call the greenhouse effect.

Is all this good?

The lucky ones and the lucky ones in trying this type of products assure that they hallucinated with the flavor and the texture so similar that both the meat and the fish had.

As the meat and fish of the future finish landing in our country, our restaurants and our supermarkets, let’s enjoy what we have but trying to be aware of what this means for our environment.

But is it going to be enough? Would you dare to eat insects?

It seems little variety to me still for so many people, there are very carnivores of God so let’s continue to value other options, such as the rich little animals .

There are a lot of them that we kill, throw and suck, being wonderful sources of protein, accessible and with low environmental impact . Yes yes, I mean insects .

It is an option that does not appeal to everyone, but for example in Mexico they have been eating insects for a long time as if they were a delicatessen, Gusanos de Maguey, ahuautles, ants or jumiles, the famous chapulines, Chicana ants, escamoles or scorpions … really, I have tried some and they are really yummy. Would you dare to try them?