Future of Food

Article written by: Danica Backes Jedrzejek

Meat is a staple in the diets of millions of people around the globe. However, its effects on the environment are incredibly detrimental and much more influential than one may think. The consumption of meat across the world accounts for roughly a third of global anthropogenic emissions of methane, contributing massively to the looming threat of global warming. According to reporters at the Washington Post, meat consumption overall contributes more harmful emissions than any singular country, with the exception of China.

Raising livestock contributes heavily to climate change, not only because of the methane released by the animals themselves, but because of the effects of many traditional agricultural methods farmers utilize to maximize their profits. One of the most common examples is concentrated animal feeding operations. Animals are overcrowded, and they require a lot of water, grain, and pesticides and fertilizers, which seep into runoff that consequently contaminate surrounding areas and bodies of water. 

It is easy to understand the adverse effects of supporting the meat industry, but it is unrealistic to cut meat out of people’s diets, considering that it has been relied upon since the first hunters hundreds of thousands of years ago. Therefore, scientists have taken people’s dependence on the taste of meat in their everyday lives into consideration, and they are now investigating a new form of “lab-made” food. And this does not just mean more vegetables. Scientists are studying how to grow meat in labs.

For over a decade, scientists have been searching for the proper conditions or a “microcarrier” where cultural animal proteins can be ideally raised. Professor Jinkee Hong at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea cracked the code on growing beef cells inside one of the most common household staples: rice. Hong was able to raise beef cells in grains of rice coated with food-grade enzymes and fish gelatin. The result was a bowl of rice with more protein than traditional rice, not to mention the eliminated risk of injected hormones or raised cortisol levels found in meat products, as well as the pathogens that can be transmitted on farms. Most importantly, this method did not require any overcrowded pens, slaughtering of animals, and therefore, no methane emissions from livestock. 

This cutting edge technology offers many potential benefits for the future of the planet, but it poses many risks that must be addressed before moving forward. This technology is new and unknown. These cultivated meat production techniques have only recently been tested, which spawns resistance against selling them in grocery stores worldwide. Only the United States and Singapore allow cultivated meats to be sold, and even then, it is hard to produce a product tested and proven safe enough to be put on the market. Moreover, one of the biggest challenges to this new technology is the impression on the public. It feels unnatural to consume a lab-grown food that tastes similar to one they regularly eat. However, these techniques are only the beginning of the future of food. New innovations are always on the horizon, and accepting these practices is years away. These are only the first steps. There are plenty of examples of hybrid products, which may be the perfect balance, like this proposed solution. The rice takes into account the concerns of those not wanting to eat animal meat but also those not wanting to lose the taste of an animal. Plant-based meats combined with real fat from animals ensures that the classic taste of meat is still identifiable.

There are experiments currently being conducted to move forward in combatting the skeptical perception of the public, the high cost, and the safety risks of cultivated meats, but nevertheless scientists are on their way to discovering the best alternatives.

Bottom line: slaughtering livestock for consumers’ meals must be slowed in order to combat climate change most efficiently because of the staggering percentage of greenhouse gas emissions to which it contributes. Finding alternatives is our surest hope for the future.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/07/03/1075809/lab-grown-meat-climate-change/#:~:text=The%20practice%20cuts%20greenhouse%2Dgas,compared%20with%20conventional%20beef%20production.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/02/27/pink-beef-rice-hybrid

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