The problem with our diet and meat consumption
There are many problems associated with the way today’s society feeds itself and how the necessary food is cultivated and produced. A particularly problematic sub-area is meat consumption. If you consider that, according to Welthungerhilfe, up to 828 million people are still suffering from hunger worldwide, meat production is anything but ideal from the point of view of efficiency alone. Instead of growing food in the fields and eating it directly yourself, it is first fed to animals in bulk, which means that vast amounts of energy are lost. In addition, this approach takes up significantly more space that could actually be used for direct food production with a vegetarian diet.
In addition to the high loss of land, resources and energy, there is also the climate damage of the meat industry. Just keeping cows, for example, releases significant amounts of methane into the atmosphere, which is a powerful greenhouse gas and is driving climate change. In addition to all these points, there would of course be animal welfare. It is undeniable that many animals suffer and die for our consumption. Even if some actors from politics, but also from society, would like to at least alleviate the damage caused by these abuses, a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle would be best for everyone for objective reasons. However, since rationality often comes second when it comes to inner cravings and desires, giving up meat is anything but easy for countless people. So that no one has to be denied the enjoyment of meat, although one has decided against consumption for the reasons mentioned above, more and more alternatives in the form of meat substitutes are coming onto the market.
Above all, meat alternatives must convince with their taste and consistency
Since, as already mentioned, staunch meat lovers are primarily concerned with enjoyment, the meat alternatives must be particularly convincing with their taste and the right consistency. For many people who cannot do without meat because of their personal need for it, substitute products that have nothing in common with the underlying meat product are of no help. According to the start-up scene, the fact that alternative products made from soya, wheat and the like that have been introduced so far do not appear to be similar enough is shown by the fact that although substitute products are becoming more and more common, the consumption of animal products is only falling minimally.
To solve the “imitation problem”, nowadays there are startups working to artificially produce meat in a laboratory. This so-called in-vitro meat is grown using stem cells without the animal having to die. The meat produced in this way is said to be confusingly similar to “actual meat” and to be an absolute copy in terms of both taste and consistency.
Like startups with meat from the lab die food industry want to revolutionize
One of these startups that wants to convince meat lovers with tasty in-vitro meat is the Leipzig startup Alife Foods. The goal of the company is to produce a schnitzel without an animal having to suffer. Because of this mission, Alife Foods also calls itself “The Cultured Schnitzel Company”. According to the Cleanthinking website, the startup deliberately keeps the list of ingredients for the schnitzel small so that the product is well received by consumers. After all, long and complicated compositions with many different substances would only put customers off. The laboratory schnitzel therefore consists only of cultivated beef based on cow’s myosatellite and muscle cells, wheat protein, breading (wheat flour mixed with vegetable oil) and methylcellulose, a cellulose derivative that is used as an emulsifier or thickener. Alife Foods’ partners are the spice company Fuchs, which is supposed to give the meat the right taste, and the US company Lab Farm Foods, which supplies the necessary cell cultures. According to the start-up scene, the schnitzel could be on the market as early as 2025, but no later than 2027.
According to Gründerszene, another German-led startup in this field is Mooji Meats. It is headed by former management consultant Insa Mohr and Professor Jochen Müller and is part of the US accelerator Y Combinator. Unlike Alife Foods, Mohr and Müller plan to 3D print their in vitro meat. “Real” meat products, such as steaks, could easily be printed using plant material and laboratory meat cells. The resulting consistency plays a special role. According to the start-up scene, a special printing technology that relies on several “nozzles”, i.e. print heads, is said to be the secret of the start-up. With the procedure one wants to be many times faster and cheaper than the competition. It would be at least a year before the first Mooji Meats product hits the market.
Nicolas Flohr / Editor finanzen.net
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