Scientists of Oxford University and the University of Amsterdam have found that meat that has been grown with tissue engineering would have up to 96% less greenhouse gas emissions than the conventional way of producing meat.
The most recent study conducted by the two universities also estimated that cultured meat would require 7 to 45 percent less volume of pork, beef or sheep to fully grow using the new techniques. Hanna Tuomisto from the Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit stated that the study found that the environmental impacts from creating the cultured meat was a lot lower than the traditional way of production.
To gain a rough calculation for these estimates, the researchers used a processed that utilizes Cyanobacteria hydrolysate acting as an energy and nutrient source for the growing cells in the meat. As of right now this type of tissue engineering is exclusive to laboratories but the researchers estimate that they would be able to up the ante and produce up to 1,000 kilograms of cultured meat using the same technology.
Comparing cultured meat to traditional means of producing in the European area, cultured meat used 7 to 45 percent less energy, had 78 to 96 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions, 99 percent lower use of land and 82 to 96 percent lower water use (depending of what type of meat they were producing).
Ms Tuomisto stated that they are not looking to replace current means of meat production as of right now. The study however could be the answer to the growing concern of feeding the world’s exponentially rising population.
As our second lead editor, Brit Martinez provides guidance on the stories The Marketing Folks’ reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and relevant to the readers. Brit received a BA and and MA from University of Alaska Anchorage.
