Hamburger, almost identical to the natural one
It looks like meat
Peter Svoekoshtny, Polit.roo
On Monday, an event took place in London, which is called "historic", "epoch-making" and "pivotal": a person tried a hamburger with "cultured meat" identical to beef for the first time. The cutlet was grown in the laboratory from several stem cells of a cow.
The gastronomic experiment was conducted in the Netherlands at the University of Maastricht under the supervision of Professor Mark Post, head of the Faculty of Cardiovascular Physiology. Professor Post is far from the first who dreamed of creating "artificial meat". In the Netherlands, dermatologist Willem van Helen has been researching this issue for many years. During the Second World War, he spent several years in Japanese captivity, constantly suffered from a lack of food, and, apparently, these circumstances led to his further interest in this topic.
Professor Mark Post with a laboratory cutlet. Photo: culturedbeef.net
Helen is unofficially considered the "father" and the main inspirer of the technology of obtaining "meat from a test tube". Similar experiments were conducted in the United States, where NASA funded experiments on growing muscle fibers from fish and mice from stem cells. But it turned out to be much more difficult to control the development of the cow's muscle fibers, and a full-scale experiment, during which one could get a whole cutlet, was too expensive. Mark Post was able to conduct his research only thanks to the investments of an "anonymous businessman" who spent 325 thousand dollars on the Cultured Beef project.
The American press is convinced that this donor is Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who is officially listed as one of the organizers of Cultured Beef. The billionaire is known for his passion for interesting high-tech projects. Investing personal funds in new developments, such as extraterrestrial mining or driverless cars, Brin is prepared in advance for the fact that his costs will not pay off in the foreseeable future.
It was apparently decided to conduct a study in Europe due to the fact that in the United States people are officially prohibited from trying such experimental products.
The experiment began in October 2011. To grow muscle tissue, Professor Post decided to take not embryonic cells, the development of which can be unpredictable, but myosatellites. These are stem cells that are present in mammalian muscles and become muscle tissue as a result of intense physical exertion or muscle damage.
After full-fledged cells grew out of myosatellites in the nutrient solution, muscle fibers began to form from them. To do this, the cells were placed in special water-soluble polymer frameworks. These microscopic devices not only connected the cells, but also mechanically provided the fibers with a state of tension, which caused the tissue to grow.
At the initial stage, scientists also used electrical stimulation to "exercise" muscle fibers, but it was soon noticed that it did not bring the desired result. In addition, this procedure was considered too expensive for industrial production.
The fibers of the muscle tissue turned out to be quite short, otherwise there could be difficulties with the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the cells. This problem has yet to be solved by creating a modified analogue of the blood supply system. There were difficulties with the creation of adipose tissue, but scientists assure that in the future they will be able to resolve.
As a result, the experimenters received about 140 grams of meat from 20 thousand muscle fibers. Its color, of course, is far from the usual. To give the "laboratory beef" a normal look, before cooking, the meat was tinted with beet juice and saffron.
On August 5, the famous chef Richard McGowan cooked a burger in front of the cameras. He made a cutlet using egg powder and breadcrumbs, and then fried it in a frying pan with a lot of butter.
The sample was taken by experts in the field of cooking: Austrian nutritionist Hanni Rutzer and culinary futurist, author of a study on the future of food Josh Schonwald. Their verdict was disappointing: the meat seemed to them too dry, not containing "juice", almost fat-free, despite the addition of oil during frying. The crust on top turned out to be too crunchy and rather resembled bread. The consistency "when bitten," according to Schonwald, "is quite similar to meat," but there is still not enough meat flavor in the middle of the piece.
Despite the fact that the first experience did not cause delight among experts, scientists are very encouraged by this experience. At least, the experiment proved that people are already able to create edible meat in the laboratory. According to the participants of the Cultured Beef project, synthesized meat is the inevitable future.
Richard Wrangham, a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard, believes that people will not be able to refuse this product anyway. "The history of human evolution is inextricably linked with meat consumption. As soon as we started cooking meat, we started getting a huge amount of energy. Energy allowed us to have a big brain, thanks to it we became people physically and anatomically. In societies that live by hunting and gathering, people get very upset if a hunter returns empty-handed for several days in a row. Life literally freezes. And then someone brings meat to the settlement, and everyone is delighted. People rush to share the spoils, and getting their piece is practically a ritual, just like today at a backyard barbecue party. We are a species with a natural love and craving for meat," says Wrangham.
In turn, Ken Cook, one of the initiators of the project and the founder of the influential American environmental organization EWG, is convinced that getting meat in the same way threatens humanity itself, while 175 million burgers can be obtained from stem cells taken from one cow. The modern meat industry would kill 440 thousand cows for this.
"Feeding the world is a difficult task. I think people don't even understand the impact meat consumption has on our planet. The meat industry produces 18% of greenhouse gases. In total, we use about 1,900 liters of water to get only half a kilo of meat. 70% of antibiotics in the United States are consumed not by people, but by animals that are bred on large farms and kept in extreme cramped conditions. By eating such meat, a person exposes himself to danger: he may develop cancer or serious heart disease – the risk increases by 20% due to the substances contained in animal fat. 70% of the fertile land in the United States is used to provide food for cattle. If this land could be used to grow vegetables and fruits, we could feed more people and provide them with a healthier diet. By 2050, meat consumption in the world will double. We just can't keep doing the same things anymore. It remains only to change the methods of meat production," Ken Cook concluded.
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12.08.2013