Dutch scientists are attempting to grow a reasonable facsimile of pork in a laboratory from muscle-harvested pig stem cells. To date, the scientists have created a one-centimetre long lab-grown meat sample with the consistency and feel of a scallop. The protein content is roughly 20% less than normal meat. The proposed lab meat would be used in sausages, hotdogs and other minced meat renditions.
The consortium of publicly funded scientists working on the project believe that the lab-grown genetically engineered meat may offer an environmentally friendly alternative to factory farm methods of raising livestock.
Currently, livestock contribute about 9% of total carbon dioxide emissions, 37% of the methane and 65% of the nitrous oxide. In terms of CO2 equivalents the gaseous emissions from livestock production amounts to about 18% of the global warming effects. This is more than the contribution from the whole transportation sector; reports the Food and Agricultural Organization in the United Nations' recent report Livestock's long shadow - environmental issues and options.
The quest to find alternatives to traditional meat does potentially represent a way to eliminate livestock’s enormous impact on the environment while eliminating the cruelty and suffering associated with mass-scale factory farming.
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Via: Physorg
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