The meat sector has been denouncing for some time that the so-called synthetic or laboratory ‘meat’ is being presented to consumers as an alternative to real meat with the idea of revolutionizing the industry under the premise of a supposedly low environmental impact.
According to the Meat and Health sector platform, in vitro meat is in an initial phase, which is why it raises question marks, both technical and scientific. Despite this, the cultured or lab-grown meat industry is expected to reach a turnover of 8.7 billion euros by 2030, according to Biotech Foods, a Spanish company dedicated to research on cultured meat.
Artificial meat is created in laboratories from stem cells extracted from animal muscles: cow, chicken or pig, along with other elements, such as fetal bovine serum, myoglobin, vitamins, amino acids, fat and connective tissue. Its debut was in 2012, when the first hamburger made in a laboratory was presented in London.
For its creation, they report in Meat and Health, the scientists took stem cells from the muscle tissue of the cow, which they then cultivated, promoting their growth to obtain a hamburger-shaped product. It took two years to do it and an investment, per unit, of 250,000 euros. In 2016, an American company managed to make this synthetic product for 1,800 euros.
Therefore, they emphasize in the sectoral platform, “we are talking about a laboratory product with an exorbitant price and that, compared to the image that it wants to transmit, is not exempt from elements of animal origin or environmental impact, at the same time that it raises doubts about its safety and health effects.
Less environmental impact?
One of the things advocates of synthetic meat claim is that it is more sustainable than real meat, despite the fact that the US Government Accountability Office reminds us that “until commercial production methods and final products are established, these Positive claims about impacts to the environment, animal welfare or human health will remain unsubstantiated.”
Likewise, there are studies that ensure that in vitro meat has an environmental impact equal to or even greater than livestock production. Some of them argue that synthetic meat is more polluting than chicken and pork production. And a 2019 report from the University of Oxford noted that synthetic meat emits more greenhouse gases.
This is because methane emissions from the livestock industry do not accumulate in the atmosphere, which causes less global warming, while the emissions generated by synthetic meat are entirely CO2 from power generation.
safety and security
The intake of a product based on accelerated cell multiplication generates many doubts within the meat industry regarding its safety and innocuousness, especially in the medium and long term. How is this cultured tissue that starts from pluripotent stem cells with tumor capacity going to interact with our cells? They ask both in the meat sector and outside it.
Manuel Collado, a scientist specializing in stem cells in cancer and aging at the Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, once questioned the food safety of synthetic meat when he said that “we must bear in mind that it is about ingesting bovine tissue that is part of living pluripotent cells with tumor capacity and maintained with growth factors and agents with untested capacities for their consumption”.
In the international scientific community there is concern about the use of certain types of cells, such as non-human embryonic stem cells. “These cells have unlimited regenerative potential, being able to accumulate genetic mutations over time,” says a study recently published by the Nuffield Council on Biothics.
“In addition,” they add in this food ethics body, “the potential for contamination and bacterial growth at different stages of the cultivation process could bring a risk to the health of the consumer, as well as the addition of growth factors and additives. It is necessary research to assess the health risks associated with cultured meat.
unknowns to clear
Due to the fact that the technology that would be used to produce synthetic meat on a commercial scale is still in the development phase, and since the composition of the final product is not yet known, experts from the FDA and USDA (respectively, the Agency of Food and Drugs and the US Department of Agriculture) have produced a report in which a series of questions are raised: how often will these companies need to collect samples from biopsies performed on animals and from which animals will they be collected? Is genetic engineering technology involved in production methods?
The FDA and USDA are also looking for answers to these questions: will antibiotics be used in this cell production and will drug residues be detected in the final product? (it is indicated that they would be used at least in the cell storage phase), what medium is used for cell growth and how could it affect the final product?
Both organisms also wonder about the temporary structures or supports where cells can grow and form tissues and about how large-scale commercial production is proposed, since these companies need larger bioreactors than those currently available, which It would force the development of new systems that have not been reported and that will have to be subject to regulation.
Likewise, there are doubts regarding what the products that are made available to the consumer will contain, or regarding how cultured meat will impact the environment, animal welfare or human health.
It should be noted, remember in Meat and Health, that today these products are not authorized in the regulatory framework of the European Union, as is the case in the United States, where they would have to be authorized by the aforementioned FDA and USDA, which in Spain they are equivalent to the Food Safety Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Probably, regarding laboratory meat, issues such as cell supply, safety in the ingestion of new materials, protocols to prevent and monitor contamination, requirements for waste management and certification and inspection of meat require regulation. production facilities.
Another key component for in vitro meat to end up curdling has to do with its acceptance by the consumer, currently recent, according to several surveys carried out by the sector, for not considering this product as something natural and due to cultural factors.
meat is irreplaceable
Meat is an irreplaceable food that provides numerous nutrients, starting with its proteins, which are of high biological value. This means that they contain all the amino acids that we need to ingest through the diet, which does not happen with those of plant origin.
Animal proteins are more suitable than vegetable proteins to maintain skeletal muscle mass, according to various studies. Likewise, animal proteins are highly bioavailable, which means that we can assimilate these nutrients and meet the needs of the body.
rich in minerals
Meat is a source of minerals such as iron, potassium, phosphorus and zinc. Iron contributes to the normal formation of red blood cells and hemoglobin and to optimal oxygen transport; potassium favors the proper functioning of the nervous system and the maintenance of normal blood pressure, while zinc contributes to the strengthening of bones, hair, nails and skin, as well as preventing the weakening of the immune system.
The iron and zinc in meat increase the absorption of iron provided by cereals or legumes. In this way, if we combine the meat with these foods, we will obtain a more nutritious dish.
B vitamins
On the other hand, meat provides vitamins, especially those of group B, such as B1, which contributes to the normal functioning of the heart and nervous system; B3, which reduces fatigue and promotes normal energy metabolism; B6, which regulates hormonal activity; or B12, which contributes to the process of cell division and the functioning of the immune system.
Vitamin B12 is especially important, since it is not found in plant-based foods. For this reason, those who opt for a diet based solely on plant products have to take vitamin B12 supplements.
Fats are an essential nutrient for health, and different meats (rabbit, veal, pork, lamb, etc.) provide this nutrient to a greater or lesser extent. Each type of meat and each cut has a different proportion of fat.
So stating that “meats have a lot of fat” is false. For example, a pork tenderloin contains 5.1% fat; rabbit 4.6% or lean veal 5.4%, well below other foods included in slimming diets, such as eggs, low-fat cheeses, some fish and nuts.
healthy fats
Delving into the contribution of fat from meat, Meat and Health explains that there are many cuts of meat that are lean and whose fat content is minimal, such as pork loin, which only provides 2.5% fat, or beef tenderloin, which does so in a proportion of 3%.
There are also cuts in which the fat separates easily. Nor should we forget the lipid profile of meats, since in many of them the fats that we find are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, known as good fats.
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