It’s no secret that our meat consumption worldwide is getting out of control. Each year, 56 billion farmed animals are slaughtered for food purposes, much of which ends up being thrown out and wasted due to expiration dates. Meat is a tricky food to harvest and transport, not to mention the short shelf-life that most meat products have in grocery stores. The entire process of raising the animals, feeding them, and finally butchering them comes at a cost, and not just a monetary one. Our planet is suffering. Globally, animal agriculture produces more harmful greenhouse gases than all of the planet’s transportation systems combined. The methane levels given off by all of these animals during their lives, as well as their journey from farm to table, are insane. One potential solution? Lab-grown meat.

At first thought, it seems wrong, maybe even disgusting. How can something tasty, let alone edible, come from the cold and sterile environment of a lab? Strangely enough, it can, but not until the substance has gone through a process of cell manipulation and nourishment.