Memphis Meats: the company specializing in cell culture meat

Technology and scientific advances in the food industry make us wonder about many product concepts, which are beginning to be a reality

There are many questions surrounding Memphis Meats: the company specialized in cell culture meat, or what we also know as cultured meat, in vitro meat or synthetic meat.

However, regardless of the name it receives This production of animal meat, what does it consist of exactly? What needs does it intend to cover and what problems does it pose?

Next, we intend to solve the main unknowns surrounding cell culture meat. And, to do so, we are going to start by explaining the problems associated with current meat production.

The current problems of the meat industry

The main problems associated with the meat industry are:

1. Increase in demand

Globally, the population has raised spending on meat to a trillion dollars, practically. In fact, if we only look at the production of red meat and chicken in the United States, we see how it rises to 43 billion kilos (data from 2015, although demand has not stopped increasing).

2. Strong investment in monetary and natural resources

Livestock for human consumption need to eat a large quantity of food, so that the investment in this it is considerably high, both from a monetary and a natural point of view (As we will see in the contamination section). In other words, keeping a cow alive is not exactly economical.

3. Global pollution

The food industry is responsible for a third of global pollution, caused by transportation, packaging, gases from the more than one billion cows in the world, etc. And all this, contributing to the greenhouse effect.

4. It is not sustainable

Eating excessive meat implies not taking advantage of effectively the different natural resources that we have. In this sense, science has advanced, and a lot, in relation to how the diet of human beings should be (from the point of view of achieving a nutritional balance).

5. Violent methods used

Another of the most controversial issues is the methods used to slaughter cattle.. Which, like the previous problems, has generated debate.

Memphis Meats: one of the alternatives to the aforementioned problems

Now in reference to cell culture meat. What is Memphis Meats? And what is cell culture meat production?

Memphis Meats is a San Francisco company that aims to revolutionize the meat industry, addressing the problems mentioned above. Now, how do you intend to do it? Through meat production in laboratories, thus avoiding the need to sacrifice any animal.

Now, is it possible to do it? Of course. In fact, it is not a futuristic idea, but it has already been carried out and successfully, producing beef, chicken and potus through cells from these living beings.

Production of meat from cells: how is it achieved?

The process is the following: a series of cells are extracted from a specific part of the animal, and they are cultured in a mixture of amino acids, sugar, fats and water.

In this way, cells reproduce and, In a period of about 3 to 6 weeks, you get a piece of meat ready for human consumption.

This alternative, compared to the current form of production, It represents a reduction in gas emissions by 96%, energy by 45%, land by 99% and water by 96%. And to this we must add the elimination of animal suffering.