Imagine a future where food enthusiasts are savoring beefed-up rice. According to Sohyeon Park, a chemical engineer at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, lab-made beefy rice has a delicious taste, described as “nutty and a little sweet.” While it’s not yet ready for the dinner table, it holds the promise of offering a more sustainable way to consume meat. Current meat production methods, such as cattle farming, have a significant environmental impact, emitting over 100 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere annually. Scientists are exploring alternatives, including cricket farming and replacing meat with fermented fungal spores. Lab-grown meat is also gaining attention as a way to reduce the environmental impact of traditional meat production. In a recent experiment, Park and her colleagues coated rice grains with fish gelatin and enzymes, then added cow cells to each grain. The rice’s 3-D structure provides a framework for the cells to grow and gives them a more meatlike texture. This innovative approach could revolutionize the future of meat consumption.
2024-02-14 11:00:00
Post from www.sciencenews.org
