Now, we can even create solid meat in the laboratory, not just pure meats. Each piece of meat we eat is the muscles of the animal. But animals don’t just have meat.
A cow, for example, has organs and bones – the majority of countries in the world refuse to consume. From the perspective of environmentalists, cattle need food, water, space, energy consumption, and create a large amount of waste – which causes a significant impact on the environment.
More importantly, these are all living animals, and this makes many people choose to become vegetarian because they do not want to kill.
So will it be easier for us to be able to create the right human flesh without leaving waste, nor need to kill any creature? That’s when cell biotechnology comes in, with the potential to create only muscle and fat bundles. They are called “cultured-meat“.
Basic structure of meat
If you look at the piece of meat you still eat under the microscope, you will see that it is a very complex structure – matrix of muscle cells and fat, mixing with blood vessels and connective tissues.
A basic piece of meat has fat, muscle, blood vessels and connective tissue. Muscle cells contain protein, fat is fat. Combined, they create the flavor for each piece of meat you still eat. Meanwhile, blood vessels and connective tissues make it a structure.
A piece of meat needs all four elements, and that is the challenge for biotechnology. Scientists have to make a piece of meat that is full of complexity to be truly valuable, and appear on the market.
Science can create muscle and fat in the laboratory, but blood vessels and connective tissues can only grow in a living organism. So, the meats created so far have only the puree that can be used in burgers, not yet able to get a complete piece of beef.