It's been a while since there has been a media outcry about genetically modified foods, however in the last few days there has been a lot of attention surrounding a particular burger. This burger was synthetically made in a lab from stem cells that were taken from a cow. Today it was cooked and eaten in front of the public, to prove that it can be done.
The Dutch scientist-cum-chefs who made this burger grew muscle strips from these stem cells which were then frozen into pellets and eventually shaped into a burger patty. This was flavored with various herbs and dyed red using beetroot.
A leading Austrian food researcher remarked “I was expecting the texture to be more soft… there is quite some intense taste; it's close to meat, but it's not that juicy. The consistency is perfect, but I miss salt and pepper.”
While this may sound a little off-putting, scientists hope that this method of food production could become a sustainable way of producing meat in the future. As the population of the world grows, we will become increasingly less able to produce enough meat to feed the population, however a number of critics have suggested that a less meat-intensive diet would be a more sustainable solution.
It has recently come to light that one of the key people funding this project was Sergey Brin, one of the founders of Google.
KitGuru says: Coming to a fast-food restaurant near you!
Source: The Independent