Cultured Beef and the Future of Global Meat Consumption

Would You Like Fries With Your Stem-Cell Burger? Cultured Beef And The Future Of Global Meat Consumption

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the demand for meat will increase by more than two-thirds by 2050.  In the short-term, evidence suggests meat will become an ever-increasingly expensive “luxury” food over the next two decades.

But the long-term issues are far more alarming.

According to the researchers, current meat production methods are inefficient due to the amount of land required for the production of grain for feed. Animals transform only 15 percent of vegetable proteins into edible animal proteins. Cultured beef production could prove more efficient as it can be conducted in a controlled environment.

“Feeding the world is a complex problem. I think people don’t yet realize what an impact meat consumption has on the planet,” says Ken Cook, Co-Founder,Environmental Working Group. “Eighteen percent of greenhouse gases come from meat production, more than all global transport combined.  We just can’t keep doing what we’re doing. Unless we make some changes on how we produce meat on this planet, we’re in for a terrible reckoning.”

Livestock (before slaughter) release an enormous amount of methane, twenty times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  If global meat demand does increase by 73 percent by 2050, where is that extra supply going to come from when we already use 70 percent of existing farmland for livestock?

Well, if the Maastricht University estimates are correct, cells from one single cow could eventually produce 175 million quarter-pounders.  In contrast, traditional farming methods would need 440,000 cows to accomplish that feat.  And they would have to slaughter every one of those animals to do it.  With cultured meat, the host animal is not killed.

So who is behind this project you ask?  None other than Sergey Brin, Co-Founder of Google.

“There are basically three things that can happen going forward. One is that we’ll all become vegetarians, and I don’t think that is very likely.  The second thing is we ignore the issues, and that leads to continued environmental harm. The third option is we do something new,” said Brin.

The Maastricht University hamburger cost more than €250,000 to produce.  But the researchers believe the high costs today are a small price to pay for the potential future benefits of Cultured Beef to all of mankind. In the long run Cultured Beef could be cheaper than conventionally farmed beef, and certainly better for the environment.

So how long before we are able to buy some cultured meat at the supermarket?  Current estimates say it will be at least ten years, but more likely twenty, before the cost to produce and supply the product can achieve a competitive price point.