By What went right: a milestone for lab-grown meat, plus more positive news
Guilt-free meat: That’s what the founders of the world’s first lab-grown meat factory promised this week when they cut the bar on the facility in Israel.
Future meat technologies (FMT) claims it can produce up to 500kg of factory-grown chicken, pork and lamb per day, which is equivalent to about 5,000 hamburgers. Beef, they added, will soon be on the menu.
The opening of the facility represents a major step forward for a technology that could help feed a growing population without sacrificing animals or cutting down forests. FMT claims that it generates 80% less greenhouse gas emissions and uses 96% less water than traditional meat producers.
“This production facility is the real game changer,” said Professor Yaakov Nahmis, founder of the company. “[It] It can produce GM-free meat, without antibiotics or animal serum, delicious, safe, healthy and affordable meat ”.
Lab-grown chicken has been approved for sale in SingaporeBut there are many regulatory hurdles to overcome elsewhere. Nonetheless, FMT expects to sell meat grown in the US and beyond starting in 2022. What about the cost? $ 3.90 (£ 2.80) for a chicken breast, a price that FMT aims for half in a year.
Picture: Eduardo Roda Lopes
