Friday, 30 April 2010 10:37

Fermented meat is "meat" made from the laboratory culture of stem cells or muscle of animals such as chickens, pigs or corderos.La meat production in laboratories without killing animals away from science fiction and could put within ten years a hamburger green on the plate.

This alternative, one of the 50 inventions of the year by Time magazine in 2009, would be "healthier and cleaner" and have the same proteins as normal meat, according to its supporters.


You could even control their production to avoid diseases such as mad cow disease or influenza A, and even get meat "light."


"And until we flip burgers to prevent heart attacks," he told EFE Jason Matheny, director of New Harvest, a nonprofit organization that unites the efforts of scientists around the world in this field.


To convince those who are suspicious of a meal away from the fields or farms, and "farmers" white coat, he argues that "most of what we eat comes from the lab, everything is processed," such as milk, cheese nuggets.

On the possibility that these experimental practices may have unexpected effects on human health, said: "We are not aware of any risks."


The idea of meat without the expense of the lives of living is an aspiration that goes beyond the demands of animal advocates.


This invention could be a solution to the unsustainability of a planet with a devastating livestock increases the Amazon and global warming, and warned the UN report "Livestock's Long Shadow."

The secret formula is in a soup "biomedical" composed of nutrients from animal blood and microorganisms, where he placed a cell that could theoretically feed the entire world population for one year.


So far, the results are only a few small strips of pork from an inch long that can be stretched and you can add protein.


If technology continues to advance, "five to ten years," Matheny estimated, these strips could produce meat substitutes scale hard enough to get its teeth and confuse your taste with a chop "traditional."

The high cost of these processes is, according to the scientist, the only obstacle to marketing the product.


"We need more efficient automated systems that do not require the work of people and find less expensive because the ingredients now come from biomedical research," he said.


In the United States, NASA entered the way of this research in 2001 to improve the diet of the astronauts, but their long and expensive development ended with the funds and left the dining area outside with a vegetarian.


Since then, the Dutchman is the Government that has invested in this race, about five million dollars, followed by research centers in the United States, Japan, Australia and Scandinavia.



According to the director of New Harvest, big biotech companies are investing in this research in the United States, although he could not reveal their names.

In the land of hamburgers, these advances could add a new product line to market to the consumer industry vegetarian.


This sector employs more and more space on the shelves of U.S. supermarkets, where the packaging of new products show no trace animal barbecue ribs and burgers made of tofu or soy.


But the food revolution fermented meat would be a step forward, but still too expensive.


And it is to get a hamburger today would be worth a million lab dollars, experts estimate.