MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lab produced meat from cells to feed millions

According to scientists from the University of Maryland advances in cell and tissue engineering could lead to the production in laboratory conditions of meat from cells extracted to animals.

The paper published in the biotechnology magazine Tissue Engineering Journal argues that existing technology could help develop from cells certain types of processed meats such as sausages.

Jason Matheny who leads the Maryland University research team said that from one cell you could theoretically produce the world's annual meat supply and in better health and environment conditions, reducing the need to farm millions of head of cattle.

The paper says tissue engineering techniques have been developed for medical use and NASA has grown edible fish tissue in lab conditions.

To industrialize the process researches suggest the cells could be grown on large sheets that would need to be stretched to provide the exercise for the growing muscles. However, much more research is needed to produce prime beef and chicken breast.

Methany questions how vegetarians would react to such a lab developed meat, since the animals are no longer harmed, but what about the way cells are extracted from animals?

Kerry Bennett from the UK Vegetarian Society told The Guardian that "it won't appeal to someone who gave up meat because they think it's morally wrong to eat flesh or someone who doesn't want to eat anything unnatural".

In United States the Food and Drug Administration has banned selling products that involve cloned animals until their impact in humans has been full assessed.