Would you eat a lab-grown burger?

Today, at 1pm in London the world’s first “Cultured Beef” burger was unveiled in front of 200 journalists and academics. In a lab at Maastricht University, Professor Mark Post and his team harvested muscle cells from a living cow (organically raised cows from Belgium), placed into a culture dish and through the wonder of science the cells grow into meat strands. Thousands of these small strands of meat are combined to make a good ole’ fashioned hamburger.

The “burger”, if we can call it that, is touted as a sustainable alternative to current meat production. According the Cultured Beef website, “livestock contributes to global warming through unchecked releases of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The increase in demand will significantly increase levels of methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide and cause loss of biodiversity. Cultured Beef is likely a more sustainable option that will change the way we eat and think about food forever.”

They make a good point. Current methods of producing meat are a mess and our society should absolutely be looking for alternative solutions. But I really don’t think a lab-grown burger is our only option.

I would suggest we look to farmers outside of the factory farm system. Farmers who use sustainable and humane methods to raise real live cattle. Learn more about the partner farmers we work with on a daily basis who provide beef. Real beef. 

You can learn more about the science behind the Cultured Beef and watch the showcase via livestream at http://culturedbeef.net