Test-tube meat is getting closer to leaving the lab and being served on our plates.

Memphis Meats, which grows meat from animal cells, says it hopes to have its animal-free products on the market in three to four years - and has unveiled the first lab-grown meatball to the public.

It is one of several firms developed 'test tube meats' that could one day be cheaper and more environmentally friendly to produce than traditional farming.

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Memphis Meats, which grows meat from animal cells, will make its debut this week and plans to have its animal-free products on the market in three to four years. To show just how busy they've been in the lab, they unveiled the first meatball grown from beef cells

HOW DOES MEMPHIS MEATS GROW ITS MEAT? In order to grow meat in a lab, Memphis Meats begins by isolating cow and pig cells that have the ability to regenerate, and 'provides the cells with oxygen and nutrients such as sugars and minerals'. These cells develop inside bioreactor tanks into skeletal muscle that can be harvested in between nine and 21 days, Mr. Valeti said. Although Valeti mentions no animals are slaughtered in making the meats, the firm does use fetal bovine serum from unborn calves' blood to initiate the process. Advertisement

'This is absolutely the future of meat,' said Memphis Meats CEO Uma Valeti.

'We plan to do to the meat industry what the car did to the horse and buggy.

'Cultured meat will completely replace the status quo and make raising animals to eat them simply unthinkable.'

The firm has been growing real meat in small quantities using cells from cows, pigs and chickens, he revealed.

'We love meat. But like most Americans, we don't love the many negative side effects of conventional meat production: environmental degradation, a slew of health risks, and food products that contain antibiotics, fecal matter, pathogens, and other contaminants,' the firm says on its website.

Its first line of products will include hot dogs, sausages, burgers and meatballs, which will all use recipes developed by award-winning chefs.

'Our concept is simple. Instead of farming animals to obtain their meat, why not farm the meat directly? To that end, we're combining decades of experience in both the culinary and scientific fields to farm real meat cells—without the animals—in a process that is healthier, safer, and more sustainable than conventional animal agriculture.'

This week, it revealed its first product - a meatball.

'We watched how the meatball reacted in the pan, we heard the sizzle, we smelled the meat and it was exactly how you would expect a meatball to smell,' Valeti said in the video that unveiled the lab grown meatball.

'This is the first time a meatball has ever been cooked with beef cells that didn't require a cow to be slaughtered.'

Memphis Meats aims to reinvent modern animal agriculture, which the United Nations estimates consumes on-third of the world's grains and about a quarter of all land is used for grazing, reported The Wall Street Journal.

The firm says its cutting-edge technique produces 90 percent less greenhouse emissions, consumes less nutrients and doesn't require antibiotics or other additives used in traditional meat production.

'The meat industry knows their products aren't sustainable,' Valeti told The Wall Street Journal.

'We believe that in 20 years, a majority of meat sold in stores will be cultured.'

While generating one calorie from beef requires 23 calories in feed, Memphis Meats plans to produce a calorie of meat from just three calories in inputs.

Uma Valeti (pictured left). The firm says its technique produces 90% less greenhouse emissions, consumes less nutrients and doesn't require antibiotics or other additives used in meat production. While generating one calorie from beef requires 23 calories in feed, it plans to produce a calorie of meat from just 3 calories in inputs

In order to grow meat in a lab, Memphis Meats begins by isolating cow and pig cells that have the ability to regenerate, and 'provides the cells with oxygen and nutrients such as sugars and minerals'.

These cells develop inside bioreactor tanks into skeletal muscle that can be harvested in between nine and 21 days, Mr. Valeti said.

Although Valeti mentions no animals are slaughtered in making the meats, the firm does use fetal bovine serum from unborn calves' blood to initiate the process.

When a pregnant cow is slaughtered, blood is drown from the fetus through its heart.

In order to separate the blood cells from the serum, the blood is sent through a centrifuge and then filtered further.

In order to grow meat in a lab, Memphis Meats begins by isolating cow and pig cells that have the ability to regenerate, and 'provides the cells with oxygen and nutrients such as sugars and minerals'. These cells develop inside bioreactor tanks into skeletal muscle that can be harvested in between nine and 21 days

The final product is low in antibodies and high in growth factors.

Fetal bovine serum is the most commonly used animal supplement for cell cultures.

Memphis Meats says they are working on plant-based alternative that will replace the serum in the future.

THE COMPETITION: SERGEY BRIN'S 'FRANKENBURGER' Sergey Brin invested heavily in a technique for growing a beef burger from stem cells in 2013 dubbed the 'frankenburger'. Its creator, Dutch scientist Mark Post, claimed it could revolutionize the food industry and help save the planet. His burgers are created in a four-step process. First, stem cells — which have the power to turn into any other cell — are stripped from cow muscle, which is taken during a harmless biopsy. Next, the cells are incubated in a nutrient 'broth' until they multiply many times over, creating a sticky tissue. This is then bulked up through the laboratory equivalent of exercise — it is anchored to Velcro and stretched. Finally, 20,000 strips of the meat are minced and mixed with salt, breadcrumbs, egg powder and natural red colourants to form an edible patty. Mosa Meat plans to sell cultured ground beef to high-end restaurants and specialty stores in four to five years. Advertisement

'This is absolutely the future of meat,' said Valeti in a recent press release.

'We plan to do to the meat industry what the car did to the horse and buggy.'

'Cultured meat will completely replace the status quo and make raising animals to eat them simply unthinkable.'

Although Valeti mentions no animals are slaughtered in making the meats, the firm does use fetal bovine serum from unborn calves' blood to initiate the process. Memphis Meats says they are working on plant-based alternative that will replace the serum in the future

As of right now, it costs about $18,000 to produce one pound of Memphis Meats' ground beef, compared to the $4 a pound in most US grocery stores, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Memphis Meats officials say they have had discussions with the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on how their meats will be regulated.

MODERN MEADOW: CULTURED LEATHER Modern Meadow hopes to 'reduce the global impact of livestock production'. It has already shown off leather grown using its technique, and says it will also be able to eventually grow meat using the same system. The firm has 'invented a tissue engineering technique based on bioprinting, the 3D assembly of tissues driven by computer controlled processes,' according to its web site. Cells are sourced from animals, grown in the lab in sheets and then developed into layers which are fused into tan, finished and designed into leather products. The firm uses fetal bovine serum, but hopes to create an alternative. Advertisement

The FDA will most likely review the cultured meat before the USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service begins their process of regulating the product and how it is made, a USDA spokesman said.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who provided $330,000 to fund the world's first cultured hamburger, describes cultured meat as a technology with 'the capability to transform how we view our world.'

As of right now, it costs about $18,000 to produce one pound of Memphis Meats' ground beef, compared to the $4 a pound in most US grocery stores. Memphis Meats officials say they have had discussions with the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on how their meats will be regulated

Memphis Meats will offer its products to restaurants and retailers, including Memphis-area barbecue restaurants that are co-owned by William Clem, a tissue scientist who teamed up with Mr. Valeti and Nick Genovese, a stem cell biologist, to start the company.

'This is probably the toughest market you can imagine for something like this,' Clem said.

It's Memphis, Tenn., it's all about tradition.'

'We've got a road map to start small and introduce it to people and get some feedback.'