IIT researchers develop lab-grown meat

◗ Lab-grown meat will open new vistas towards cruelty-free food thereby saving the environment as well as the animals, said Dr Biman B. Mandal of IIT-Guwahati

New Delhi, Aug. 25: Researchers at IITGuwahati have developed lab grown meat, which is nutritious and will be a step towards cruelty-free food.

Lab-grown meat will open new vistas towards cruelty-free food thereby saving the environment as well as the animals, said Dr Biman B. Mandal of IITGuwahati.

In Biomaterial and Tissue Engineering laboratory, researchers have developed a novel technique formulated and patented for production of meat which is completely natural, he said.

“The taste of the final meat product will remain similar as raw meat but with improvised nutritional values as per customer needs.

“Usage of external chemicals like hormones, animal serum, growth factors or antibiotics have been restricted in this preparation, hence it is safe on ethical concerns,” Mandal said. Owing to the rapid increase in population, the meat industry has been facing immense pressure in keeping up with the food requirements, he said.

Citing predictions from the UN population prospects, Mr Mandal said that the current meat industry will not be able to meet the global needs by 2050.

Around 4,000 litres of water are required to produce one kg chicken meat and more than 8,000 litres of water are required to produce one kg of mutton, he said.

The livestock industry also contributes to waste water and more greenhouse gas emissions than all of the world’s transport combined. Moreover, billions of animals are killed each year for meat, Mandal said.

Muscle progenitor cells isolated from animals via small biopsies are grown on edible material base which is patented by the team, he explained. Fat cells, cartilage cells or bone cells can be grown in conjunction with the muscle stem cells in different layers and is now being tried out, he said.