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Modern Meadow CEO on the Merits of 3D Printed Meat

By Rain Noe - March 4, 2013

in Sustainable Design | Digital Fabrication

Andras Forgacs is the CEO of Modern Meadow, a company that's seeking to mass produce bioengineered meat that comes out of a bioprinter. Why? Because commercial meat production is a highly resource-intensive process, and Modern Meadow argues that their product is a more sustainable way to provide protein.

While Forgacs and co. have been at this for some time—below is a video of him eating Modern Meadow's early product in front of a TED audience in 2011—last week he submitted himself to a Reddit AMA ("ask me anything") session, clearing up some things I'd been confused about. Here are some excerpts:

Q:What is the input, what is the output ? Explain like I am five, for 1 kg of meat , what is needed? The input are largely animal cells (muscle, fat and a couple other types - taken from a donor animal through a biopsy) and cell culture media (a soup in which the cells grow made of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, salts, sugars) and then energy to run the process. Output is muscle tissue that is then matured/conditioned until it is processed into meat products.

Q: Are the input animal cells consistent with the output? Or will there be a blending of pig/cow/horse etc to create "beef"? A: No blending of different species. Pig stays pig. Cow stays cow. Etc. We are using multiple cell types from each animal but staying with the same animal. In fact, an advantage of this approach is that it can ensure purity. Because we control the inputs and have such a tight process, we know the exact ingredients of every batch. No mystery meat surprises like the recent one from the UK.

In the aforementioned video, Forgacs spends roughly the first half explaining why bioprinted meat is a good idea, and roughly the second half whipping up a snack in a raclette, then tosses it down the hatch:

Now whether you're grossed out by this or not, you've gotta be wondering: How does it taste? Writes Forgacs,

I've tasted it as have my colleagues. We've only been able to have small bites since we're still working on getting the process right.

I cooked some pieces in olive oil and ate some with and without salt and pepper. Not bad. The taste is good but not yet fully like meat. We have yet to get the fat content right and other elements that influence taste. This process will be iterative and involve us working closely with our consulting chefs.

While I fully understand Modern Meadow's sustainability rationale for pursuing their goal, I'm a little squeamish about eating the stuff. But I can definitely get behind the company's other goal: They hope to successfully print leather, which would be pretty awesome.

Check out the full AMA here.

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Nigel

11 years ago

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I wonder if meat produced in this way allows it to be eaten raw. If so I'd foresee some very interesting culinary applications :D
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Luke

11 years ago

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One thing astounds me: you'd all really rather kill a living, feeling animal than just eat meat grown from cultured tissue? I'd be willing to bet that the factory farmed crap sold nowadays has less flavor than this 3D printed meat, and that cultured meat will be cleaner and infinitely less cruel too.

If the shape is off putting, just think chicken breast strips. Literally the same shape.
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Ken J

11 years ago

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No one here was judging Jean Luc Picard sipping his replicated Earl Grey. This is a proper step in a sustainable direction, especially for space applications where farms aren't available.
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bob

11 years ago

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If he had the opportunity to print it into any shape why did he still choose deformed man meat as a prototype demonstration
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armen k

11 years ago

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3D printed? Could you at least print it out to look like tofu cubes or a steak?
Not like something a piranha coughed up in a stupid movie?
*ackk**gurgle**blerk* (looses lunch)
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one step closer to soylent paradise

11 years ago

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one step closer to soylent paradise. is this loon serious?!?!?
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powers

11 years ago

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That first image on the left Lol GROSS! Welcome to the future.
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sarah

11 years ago

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this just may be the thing to turn me into a vegetarian
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