In vitro meat

In vitro meat is meat that is manufactured in a laboratory. It is produced by taking stem cells out of muscle cells from the living animal and multiplying them in a nutrient solution. The cells grow to muscle cells and if applicable to muscle fibers later. The method of producing in vitro meat is intended to provide an alternative to meat production by (industrial) animal husbandry without killing animals. Additionally, there is research on further in vitro products as for example fish meat, eggs and leather.

In vitro meat is supposed to become a way out of the discrepancy between the increasing meat consumption worldwide ^[1] and the high resource requirements of the conventional meat production and the rising awareness of the population on issues of animal welfare on the other side. As opposed to meat substitutes which are based on plant products and partly egg and / or milk (see innovation “meat substitutes”), in vitro meat is based on “real” meat. It is produced by taking and cultivating cells - similar to regenerative medicine - which are multiplying on a growth medium or growth factors in a bioreactor.^[2] Producing cell-based meat products could use considerably less water and land resources and also cause notably less GHG emissions than in vivo meat production according to first estimations.^{[3] [4]}

In vitro meat is meat that is manufactured in a laboratory. It is produced by taking stem cells out of muscle cells from the living animal and multiplying them in a nutrient solution. The cells grow to muscle cells and if applicable to muscle fibers later. The method of producing in vitro meat is intended to provide an alternative to meat production by (industrial) animal husbandry without killing animals. Additionally, there is research on further in vitro products as for example fish meat, eggs and leather.

In vitro meat is meat that is produced in laboratories. In this way (if development of current techniques proceed) meat can be produced without killing animals. In vitro meat has a high ecological sustainability potential due to the implicit reduction of animal husbandry. However, it will probably not change lifestyles, consumers‘ behavior or awareness, as it is still a meat product. According to surveys, social acceptance is still low, but it is likely that in vitro meat, as a cheap meat alternative, will be often consumed once it is on the market.