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Meat Grower
The Idea: Grow meat in a lab
Stage: The tech works but the taste may be off
Using techniques that come out of stem cell technology, numerous groups of scientists have grown meat in the lab. Stem cells are placed on scaffolding and soaked in nutrients to grow. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are behind the push for lab meat. In 2008, the group offered a $1 million prize to the first group that can grow commercially viable amounts of chicken meat in a lab. New Harvest is a nonprofit founded by Jason Matheny in 2004 to do just that. In May he told Bloomberg Businessweek, "It's a way to satisfy the growing global demand for meat in a way that's healthier, more energy efficient, and sustainable." See Bloomberg Businessweek's profile of New Harvest founder Jason Matheny.
Stage: The tech works but the taste may be off
Using techniques that come out of stem cell technology, numerous groups of scientists have grown meat in the lab. Stem cells are placed on scaffolding and soaked in nutrients to grow. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are behind the push for lab meat. In 2008, the group offered a $1 million prize to the first group that can grow commercially viable amounts of chicken meat in a lab. New Harvest is a nonprofit founded by Jason Matheny in 2004 to do just that. In May he told Bloomberg Businessweek, "It's a way to satisfy the growing global demand for meat in a way that's healthier, more energy efficient, and sustainable." See Bloomberg Businessweek's profile of New Harvest founder Jason Matheny.
