How Modern Technology Can Help to Save the Environment

Technology help to save the environment

Advocates of animal rights and climate protection hope that cultured meat could be a viable alternative to industrial farm animal production.

Producing a piece of meat without the associated animal suffering and enormous environmental pollution would be a huge step forward for mankind. And you can make sure of that by ordering an essay from the best custom writing companies.

In 2008, PETA USA, an American animal rights organization, offered a $1 million prize to anyone who could create artificial meat from chicken cells. Although the reward still remains unclaimed, there has been tremendous progress toward accomplishing that goal.

How can technology help to save the Environment From Concept to Market?

A commercial released by Memphis Meats, a US food technology company, features very realistic-looking meatballs. The use of muscle cells in their production is mainly derived from pigs. And intended to provide end-users with a product that’s indistinguishable from conventional meat in terms of appearance, texture, and taste.

The company plays a pioneering role in the development of poultry meat: in 2017. Memphis Meats presented the first-ever chicken and duck meat grown from cell cultures.

An Israeli start-up called Super meat is also developing a technology that could save billions of chickens’ lives. The company claims that it will let consumers make their own meat and help reduce enormous food waste.

PHW, a daughter company of the Wiesenhof brand, also shares this vision: in early 2018, the company invested quite heavily in Super meat.

Both Mosa Meat and Memphis Meats believe that the first lab-grown meat will be available early next decade. Hampton Creek, a company behind the successful mayonnaise alternative “Just Mayo”, has even announced its plans to bring the first products to market by that date.

The meat of the future will not grow in the lab. But, rather in a production facility where it will be manufactured in large containers.

New Generation of Plant-Based Alternatives

Although clean meat has become synonymous with alternatives to its conventionally produced analogs, there are far more alternative food products available today.

Impossible Foods’ Impossible Burger is virtually indistinguishable from a real burger. In fact, the goal of the company is to provide die-hard meat-eaters with a burger that looks and tastes just like a real one.

After conducting experiments with numerous plants, the company’s scientists have come to the conclusion that they can imitate the smell and taste of the meat by using heme molecules.

Their burger is based on a vegetable protein that contains these molecules. As well as a number of carefully selected fats, vitamins, and amino acids. So, the result is a product that is very similar to meat at the molecular level and hence looks and tastes pretty much the same.

In July 2016, the Impossible Burger was first offered for sale in a small restaurant in New York. After having one, a food journalist makes a verdict: “It tastes like meat and is very, very delicious”.

Since then, the company has expanded significantly and now offers its products in several US cities. In 2017, Impossible Foods announced its plans to begin operation in Hong Kong.

It also planned to open a production facility capable of manufacturing 1 million pounds of meat per month. According to Pat Brown, CEO of Impossible Foods, his company intends to cover 50% of the world’s meat needs in 20 years’ time.

In 2014, a research team from the Fraunhofer Institute in Freising (Germany) received the German Future Prize for a procedure that makes it possible to use lupines for food production. So far, the regionally grown legume has been disregarded because of its unpleasant taste

However, the researchers were able to identify and isolate chemical compounds responsible for the bitter and beany aroma. The extent of the breakthrough is visible in supermarkets. Where lupine-made drinks, cream cheese, yogurts, ice cream, meat alternatives, and spreads are already available.

Cutting the Use of Land and Water

In the future, we will consume animal products without causing suffering to animals. However, cultured meat is a huge chance for billions of animals that get slaughtered for meat. And also holds promise for our climate.

By producing lab-grown meat, we will be able to cut the use of land and water by 99% and 90%, respectively. That fact alone will play a major role in the fight against climate change.

Well-known visionaries have already recognized this trend: Google’s founder Sergey Brin donated €250,000 to Mark Posts Team in 2013.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, financially supports Beyond Meat, Hampton Creek, and Impossible Foods. In 2016, Tyson Foods, one of the largest slaughter companies in the United States, bought shares of Beyond Meat.