La viande du futur

De la viande générée par des cultures cellulaires dans un un bioréacteur... 

Bruce Friedrich - January 31, 2016

Monday’s Wall Street Journal includes an excellent story by reporter Jacob Bunge about start-up Memphis Meats, and cultured meat generally, titled, "Sizzling Steaks May Soon Be Lab-Grown: Startups raising funds to produce meat from cells cultivated in bioreactors."

The story begins: “Several startups are racing to be the first to fill U.S. consumers’ plates with laboratory-developed hamburgers and sausages that taste just as good as the kind from cattle and pigs.”

Bunge explains the benefits of cultured over conventional meat: “The startups’ lofty goal is to remake modern animal agriculture, which the United Nations estimates consumes one-third of the world’s grains, with about a quarter of all land used for grazing. The companies say that growing meat with cells and bioreactors—similar to fermentors used to brew beer—consumes a fraction of the nutrients, creates far less waste and avoids the need for antibiotics and additives commonly used in meat production.”

Bunge notes that venture capital firms and Silicon Valley investors want to remake meat, noting that Bill Gates, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams have all invested in plant-based start-ups that aim to disrupt animal agriculture.

My favorite part of the story comes when Memphis Meats CEO Uma Valeti, M.D., declares that “The meat industry knows their products aren’t sustainable… We believe that in 20 years, a majority of meat sold in stores will be cultured.”