BUT IS THIS REALLY MEAT?

HOW DO YOU GROW THIS MEAT?

WHO’S MAKING IT?

DO WE NEED CLEAN MEAT?

IS THERE A FLIP SIDE?

Last week, Maneka Gandhi , women and child development minister, made a strong case for consuming laboratory grown meat as against animal meat. “Yes, the world is eating dirty meat,” she told an event on ‘The Future of Protein’ in Hyderabad. Her solution is, of course, ‘clean meat’, also called ‘in vitro meat’ or ‘cultured meat’. This will be available in the US by the end of this year, and eventually in India.Of course, it is. The first lab-grown burger was made in 2013, except it cost a bit much – well, about $33,000! Mark Post, a Dutch researcher, made it. Since then costs have come down drastically.Basically, take a handful of stem cells or progenitor cells from an animal. In a lab , under the right circumstances, cells can divide, just like they do naturally. They have to be fed nutrients like salt and sugar. They also need proteins. These come from serums made from animal blood. But they really cost a bomb: just an ounce of fish serum costs about $850. Some labs,however, claim they have managed to eliminate serums, but their formulae are closely guarded secrets.Several start-ups in the US are at it. One of them is Memphis Meats, founded by an Indian-origin cardiologist, Uma Valeti. Billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson have both invested in Memphis. Gates has also invested in another clean meat producing company, Impossible Foods. Then there are others like Just, formerly Hampton Creek, and Finless Foods.Why not? If it tastes as good – and those who have eaten the stuff claim they couldn’t really tell the difference – and does not involve slaughter, it can’t be bad. Just think about it: to make foiegras – a duck or goose liver delicacy –the bird is force-fed till its liver is about 10 times the normal size. Now, if you get the same foiegras without having to have tortured the duck, wouldn’t you rather go for it?Besides, think about the environmental cost. Nearly a fourth of the landin the world is used for cattle to graze. And livestock releases almost 15% of all the greenhouse gases. Also, think about the water needed: a 10kg goat would have consumed 80,000 litres of water. So, your 1kg mutton led to 8,000 litres of water being used up. And in India, 71% of those aged 15 and above are nonvegetarians. That’s a lot of water.Yes. Running these meat labs will require a lot of energy. Also, think about the millions of livestock farmers who will lose their livelihood. Essentially, this is the next big disruption — a lot like driverless cars. And we don’t know the full story yet. But one thing we do know: clean meat will be here, and very soon.