Forget Frankenfoods the Next Big Thing Will Be Stem Cell Steaks
B. McPherson Perhaps stem cell steaks are a bit of a reach but scientists at the Dutch Eindhoven University of Technology are culturing beef strips from beef stem cells. Chief scientist Mark Post has predicted that they will have enough of the in vitro produced muscle by October to produce a hamburger. While this may sound like science fiction, the basics have already been dealt with and tiny strips of beef muscle have been cultured. The scientists involved estimate that this will be a more efficient way of producing beef for consumption. Conventionally raised beef takes about 100 pounds of resources to produce 15 pounds of useable meat. The lab raised beef is estimated to produce 50 pounds for every 100 pounds of resources. Of course the first stem cell burger will actually cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The race is on to produce more meat for the growing human population. As living standards rise, people can afford more protein and often consume it in the f...