In a recent study by researchers at U.C. Davis, which has not been peer-reviewed, results show that lab-grown meat’s environmental impact is likely to be “orders of magnitude” higher than retail beef based on current production methods.
The first important clarification that needs to be made is that lab-grown meat is still in fact, meat. Otherwise known as "cultured meat", lab-grown meat is created by taking stem cells from, for example, a cow, and placing them in petri dishes along with amino acids and carbohydrates to help the muscle cells multiply and grow. Once enough muscle fibers have grown, the result is meat that resembles ground beef.
The first lab-made hamburger was created in 2012, and it cost about $325,000 to produce. But as technology advances, the cost to produce cultured meat should continue to decrease.
“If companies are having to purify growth media to pharmaceutical levels, it uses more resources, which then increases global warming potential,” said lead author and doctoral graduate Derrick Risner, UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. “If this product continues to be produced using the “pharma” approach, it’s going to be worse for the environment and more expensive than conventional beef production.”
The researchers conducted a life cycle assessment of energy needed and greenhouse gases emitted in all stages of production of animal cell-based meat (ABCM) and compared that with conventional beef.
The scientists defined the global warming potential (GWP) as the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted for each kilogram of meat produced. The study found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat is four to 25 times greater than the average for retail beef.
“Our findings suggest that cultured meat is not inherently better for the environment than conventional beef. It’s not a panacea,” said corresponding author Edward Spang, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. “It’s possible we could reduce its environmental impact in the future, but it will require significant technical advancement to simultaneously increase the performance and decrease the cost of the cell culture media.”
Researchers:
Derrick Risner
Yoonbin Kim
Cuong Nguyen
Justin B. Siegel
Edward S. Spang
The research was funded by the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health and the National Science Foundation Growing Convergence Research grant.
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