Lab-grown meat "feasible"

An international research team says that it's possible to mass produce lab-grown meat using today's technology.

According to BBC News, the researchers say that advances in tissue engineering mean that cells from animals could now be directly grown into meat in the lab.

"In the long term, this is a very feasible idea," says research team member Jason Matheny of the University of Maryland.

In order to mass produce meat, Matheny and colleagues suggest growing animal cells on large sheets that are stretched to provide simulated exercise for growing muscles.

Otherwise, says Matheny, the meat would be mush.

In a commentary (PDF) in the journal Tissue Engineering, Matheny and colleagues note the following benefits of lab-grown meat:

With cultured meat, the ratio of saturated to polyunsaturated fatty acids could be better controlled; the incidence of foodborne disease could be significantly reduced; and resources could be used more efficiently, as biological structures required for locomotion and reproduction would not have to be grown or supported.