Lab technicians seek to grow death-free leather jacket

LEATHER grown in a lab could be on sale within five years, according to a firm backed by PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel.

Modern Meadow is also developing laboratory-grown meat, but says its first product could change the clothing industry.

“Our emphasis first is not on meat, it’s on leather,” co-founder and chief executive Andras Forgacs told Txchnologist.

“The main reason is that, technically, skin is a simpler structure than meat, making it easier to produce.” Part of its decision to focus on leather was the public reaction to its plans. “Anecdotally, we’ve found that around 40 percent of people would be willing to try cultured meat,” Forgacs says.

“There’s much less controversy around using leather that doesn’t involve killing animals.”

The firm says its biggest problem is how to mass produce the cells needed for leather and meat.

Modern Meadow’s meat and leather would be competing for a share of a combined $2.5 trillion (R20.5 trillion) market, Forgacs says. It hopes the project, which received a grant of £220 000 (R2.9 million) from Peter Thiel, could ease environmental concerns over meat production.

“If you look at the resource intensity of everything that goes into a hamburger, it is an environmental train wreck,” Forgacs said.

Modern Meadow admits the road ahead is not going to be easy. “The consumer acceptance of such products may not be without challenges.” – Daily Mail