CALF_News_October_November_2019

6 CALF News • October | November 2019 • www.calfnews.net Continued on page 8  By Gilda V. Bryant Contributing Editor L ab-cultured meat products may be coming to a meat counter near you. Also known as fake meat, cell-based meat or alterna- tive protein, ranchers and consumers are scrambling to learn more as they consider the effects on the beef industry. Meat-based companies culture animal muscle cells in bioreactors, while manu- facturers create plant-based products with pea, wheat, soybeans, gluten and a host of additives, including salt. World- wide, businesses are racing to develop technology to feed the world; there are at least 27 corporations producing plant- or meat-based protein in the United States. Currently, plant-based products are available to consumers, while lab- grown meats from any species are not. Alternative meat developers say their products are safer to eat than beef cur- rently produced in the United States. They assert their production is more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, while sparing live cattle from harvest. Most experts estimate that some meat-cultured brands will be available to consumers around 2021, although they will probably be expensive. However, this new industry faces sig- nificant problems. Plant-based burgers like Burger King’s Impossible Whop- per™, fill a niche market. While these products seem safe to eat, only compre- hensive testing will tell for sure. Other companies make patties containing beet juice for deeper color and to simulate blood, generating an “ick” factor for some consumers. Many Americans, separated from production agriculture by three or more generations, fail to understand food pro- duction basics, or how beef producers humanely provide safe, tasty, nutritious beef. For instance, they firmly believe cattle produce 50 percent of the earth’s greenhouse gases, although scientific research shows they generate less than five percent. Ty Lawrence, Ph.D., director of the Beef Carcass Research Center at West Texas A&M University, argues that sev- eral crucial factors are lost in lab-grown meat conversations. He says muscle cells placed in growth nutrients, including hormones, will divide at the optimum temperature. “These cells, even if they coalesce into a muscle, will never be like those from a living, breathing, walking animal,” Law- rence explains.“Because it’s not a muscle that contracted, generated force and moved a bone, the texture will be more like Jell-O. One of the big components of beef is connective tissue. I’m skeptical these cells will have the same matrix of fats, connective tissue and myofibrillar tissue that a muscle from a living animal has.” Lawrence says these cells should be opaque or nearly colorless because the animal never breathed or lived. The color of muscle reflects its myoglobin content and, indirectly, its iron content. Darker red tissue such as beef has a higher quantity of iron than pork or What's in a Name? Fabricating Your Food The Ins and Outs of Fake Meat poultry. He doubts plant-based meat will be high in B vitamins or the essential amino acids humans require for opti- mum health. The taste component is one of the driving factors of beef product sales. “If you’re growing muscle cells in a Petri dish, the only lipid [fat] available is a thin layer surrounding each cell,” Lawrence reveals.“The lab-generated product would be extremely lean and bland.” It requires millions of calories of energy for a steer to reach 1,500 pounds. It eats grass as a calf and stocker animal, then consumes corn and other high- calorie inputs at the feedyard to provide