The Rural Voice, 2006-07, Page 49The leading edge
Meat from a test tube a new rival?
Could the future of meat
production not be in the field or
feedlot but in the factory incubator?
Scientists have proven they can
grow frog and mouse meat in a lab
and are now working on pork, beef
and chicken. Their goal is to have an
industrial process within five years.
The process uses stem cells or
immature cells called myoblasts that
can be harvested from animals then
cultured to grow into muscle cells.
Dutch scientists have embarked on
a five-year, state -funded project to
cost-effectively produce pork. They
face challenges such as isolating the
best starter cells for meat production.
They also need to develop a culture
medium that doesn't require fetal
bovine serum, a blood product
extracted from embryonic calves that
has a seemingly magical power to
make muscle cells grow. This calf
serum is expensive, costing $10,000
U.S. per kilogram of cultured meat.
according to one estimate, a cost that
doesn't make the manufactured meat
economical.
Scientists at three universities in
the Netherlands are also figuring out
the best way to exercise muscle fibres
to get them to grow. Electrical
stimulation works, but so does
stretching, then shrinking. the fibres.
Taste is another issue. Scientists
don't know whether lamb meat tastes
like lamb meat because of character-
istics of muscle cells. Perhaps the
flavour comes from the grass the
animals graze on or the food they are
given to eat.
Henk Haagsman, professor of meat
sciences at University of Utrecht says
they should know in five years
whether growing meat on an industrial
scale can be done.
Dr. Vladimir Miranov, tissue
engineer at Medical University of
South Carolina thinks mass produc-
tion of cultivated meat will be expen-
sive in the short term. He sees the
possibility instead of smaller, counter-
top incubators. "It would look like a
coffee maker — this is my dream," he
said. Home chefs would put starter
cells and a package of growth medium
into the meat maker and wake up to
harvest fresh sausage for breakfast.
Some scientists argue the need for
cultured meat as a way to meet
growing world demand for meat
without more feed going to animals.
Others see the benefits in nutrition.
"Using this technology, you could
grow ground beef or pork or chicken
that had the fat profile of salmon,"
said Jason Matheny, a doctoral
student at the University of Maryland
and a co-founder of Vive Research
which is attempting to create cultured
meat. "That would have an enormous
public health impact."
Growing beef for hamburger or
chicken for chicken nuggets is one
thing but growing test-tube steak or
pork would be more difficult. said
Haagsman.
An early supporter of cultured
meat research was the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) but it has cut its funding. 0
— Source: The Globe and Mail
Heavy hitter betting on cellulose ethanol
Goldman Sachs, one of Wall Street's biggest investment banks, has given it
seal of approval on the future of ethanol creation from cellulose with a $30
million investment in Ottawa's Iogen, considered a world leader in the
technology to create energy from plant material.
The technology uses organic materials such as corn stalks, straw and grasses
to create ethanol which can be added to gasoline for a cleaner -burning fuel.
Iogen hopes to break ground on its first full-scale plant in the summer of 2007
and has already received investments of $46 million from Royal Dutch/Shell,
$25 million from Petrocan and $21 million from the federal government.
Ethanol from cellulose is considered "greener" than ethanol from grain in part
because it can use waste materials but also because more biomass can be
produced on each acre if grass and stalks can be used instead of just grain.0
— Source: The Globe and Mail Report on Business
Could soybeans fuel
jet planes in future?
The potential for farmers to
help solve the energy crisis is well
known with the growing use of
ethanol and biodiesel, particularly
south of the border, but what's the
solution for the exploding fuel
costs of the airline industry?
Bernard Tao, a professor of
agricultural and biological
engineering at Purdue University
thinks the future may lie in your
soybean field.
Tao's most recent research
project into soy -based jet fuel has
captured attention outside the
traditional agricultural marketplace.
The sky -rocketing price of jet fuel
is a key factor causing financial
troubles for airlines.
Other petroleum alternatives
such as ethanol and hydrogen don't
have enough energy per pound of
jet propulsion. "Aviation is unique
because you not only need fuel that
moves the plane, but fuel that lifts
it tens of thousands of feet off the
ground," Tao says. "The weight of
the fuel becomes very important;
much more so than in a car or boat.
So the energy density of a fuel is
unbelievably important."
"Vegetable oils have the same
chemical structure as most
materials that come from
petroleum, which makes them an
obvious alternative," Tao says,
which means jet engines wouldn't
have to be upgraded to use soy -
based jet fuel.
"And vegetable oils are not
difficult to work with," he says.
"Since they are relatively pure
materials to start with, it's easier to
make the materials you want from
them."
Next step for the soy -based jet
fuel probably won't hit the market
for several years because the
industry is so regulated.
Tao has also been involved in
developing many other soy -based
products in the past decade
including food gelatins, crayons,
candles and aviation de-icers.0
— Source: Co-operative Partners
JULY 2006 45