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In Vitro Meat ( The Idea of Shmeat)
#1
Tongue 
The Idea of In Vitro meat or Shmeat or Cultured meat is older that we might think.

World population exceeded 7 billion on March 12, 2012. Out of those 7 billions, just couple percent are vegetarians. Majority of world population is eating meat on a regular basis.

What are the main issues with meat productions? Even if you are not vegetarian, fact that one million chickens are killed per hour will leave you speechless. 40 billion animals are killed each year just in USA. A cattle farming is responsible for ~18% of greenhouse gases. Animals are treated with numerous hormones (to ensure fast grow) and antibiotics (to prevent illnesses) that will eventually end up in consumer's stomach. If you are eating fish – mercury is almost certainly present as well. Besides that, meat can also be source of viruses that could be easily transmitted from animals to humans. Meat contains more or less grease that inevitably result in high cholesterol level and increased number of coronary disorders each year. Meat is not cheap product, and lots of people are forced to be vegetarians as they can't afford it in their diets.

Idea of In Vitro meat is older that we might think. Winston Churchill predicted that meat will be generated artificially by developing just edible parts of the animals in the future. NASA conducted first experiments to create In Vitro meat as astronautic food in the '90 of previous century. They are producing In Vitro meat using the turkey cells. First edible form of meat from the “tube” was fish finger resembling meat derived from the golden fish. However, greatest breakthrough in this area is made in 2001 when group of Dutch scientists start experimenting with novel “meat breading” technique. Idea was to seed muscle cell with collagen matrix and bathe them together in nutritious solution. By 2009 they manage to create In Vitro meat out of pig cell. PETA offered 1 million dollars prize in 2008 to the first company who manage to bring lab grown chicken to the market by 2012. Today, ~30 companies around the world are focused on research and development of In Vitro meat, but consumers still haven't tasted any of it.

Muscles are made of fibers. Adult muscle has satellite cells between muscle fibers. Normally, those are quiescent cells and activity is triggered by muscle damage. Once activated, they proliferate as skeletal myoblast followed by myogenic differentiation until new fiber is formed. This feature is used for In Vitro meat production. Another precursor of muscle fibers is embryonic stem cells. After initial muscle cell is extracted from the animal and placed in the dish – added proteins will induce cell growth. Just as blood is providing muscle with needed nutrients while in the body, proper nutrition is essential for the muscle growing in the lab. Waste products need to be removed whenever they appear. Regular muscle development is assured by chemical messengers produced by nearby adipocyte cells (that are grown as separate culture). Most important thing in the whole process is to keep muscle active by inducing contractions artificially (by stretching). It sounds complicated, but it's more that sustainable. Using just one animal, a billion pounds of meat could be created and world population would have enough meat for couple hundred years.

Health effects of this kind of meat are not tested on humans yet. Amount of hormones and chemicals in the In Vitro meat can be controlled and some useful substances could be added to increase its nutritional value (such as omega 3 fatty acids). It has different smell, shape and taste compared to conventional meat and manufacturers are concerned that people wouldn't accept it even if become cheaper than marketed meat. So far, produced In Vitro meat is very expensive. Piece of beef weighting 250 grams costs 1 million dollars. Improvements in technology will reduce the cost in the future. Other advantages of In Vitro meat development are associated with environmental benefits. It's estimated that In Vitro meat production is wasting 45% less energy than conventional meat production; just 4% of greenhouse gasses are emitted during In Vitro meat production and 2% of land that is normally used for global meat and livestock industry is necessary for In Vitro meat production.

In Vitro meat (or shmeat, as some comedians are calling it) is still dealing with lot of issues, but as with so many other things – all difficulties its production is facing today will be eliminated with technological improvements. I can't wait to see In Vitro meet in groceries, not because I enjoy exploring new tastes, but because I'm huge animal lover and vegetarian Rolleyes
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#2
Recently, research in the field of health had proved that Vegetarians have a longer lifespan than those who are non-vegetarian! In one of the research at California in the university of Loma Linda, it has been evaluated that nutrition in the form of vegetables and fruits are more valuable than that found in meat or ohter non-vegetarian products thus, helps vegetarians in living a longer life. At one of Food and Nutrition Conference presentation at Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics ‘2012, it has been shown that the Body Mass Index scale of vegetarians are 5-6 units lighter than as compared to meat-eaters. The average life span of vegetarian men’s is 6.1 year s more than that of non-vegetarian men’s. At the same time the life span of vegetarian women’s is average 9.5 years more than that of non-vegetarian women’s.

Not only had this but the study revealed that the on average vegetarians are 13 Kilogram’s lighter than that of non-vegetarian eater. Also the study had shown evidences that that the kinds of foods frequently consumed in vegetarian diets like colorful fruits and vegetables which are high in antioxidants boost immune system and make body and brain stronger. Nuts, legumes reduce a person’s risk for lethal diseases, such as cancer, brain tumors, heart disease, and type two diabetes. It also control body mass index and waist size, and boost brain health. The study also revealed that obesity in non-vegetarians reduces life span by 6.2 percent as compared to obesity as observed in vegetarian!
Healthy life, Better Vegetarian Life!
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