Currently there are around 79 million people who have adopted the vegan lifestyle, this has led to the increase of vegan alternatives such as meat, milk and cheese. People can use the wonders of science to create vegan chicken nuggets that have the same texture and taste as normal chicken nuggets, but science doesn’t stop there! What if they could create real meat without the harm to the animal?
History of Veganism and Vegan Alternatives
While the term veganism was only created in 1944, the vegan lifestyle has been around for much longer with its roots in eastern cultures and religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism who wish to not inflict suffering on animals. This began to spread to western cultures and tied into animal rights movements and since then veganism has become increasingly popular.
Meat alternatives such as tofu have been around since roughly 200 BCE, and this is still a staple in many people’s diets. Vegan alternatives aim to have a similar appearance, texture and taste to animal meat and are often made from nuts, tempeh and soy protein. When you go to any supermarket, they often have a plant-based sections where you can find popular brands such as Quorn which started in the UK in 1984, Impossible Foods and Beyond Burger. Even restaurants started to catch on, Burger King was the first fast food place to start selling a veggie burger.
However, is the rapid expansion of the vegan food industry still in line with vegan morals?
There is overwhelming evidence that plant-based alternatives are much better for the environment than animal meat. The Good Food Institute has published statistics that show there is roughly 80-95% lower levels of greenhouse gases, water pollution and agricultural land used in the production of vegan meats.
I’ll have a lab grown burger please, no onions…
Imagine your next burger came from a test tube instead of a cow. This could become a reality as scientists have taken principles from regenerative medicine and applied them to the meat industry. Meat that is grown in a lab is known as cultivated meat and is created by taking cells from the animal which are given nutrients to help them grow. This slaughter-free meat supposedly tastes the same as meat from animals and scientists can enhance the nutritional content, so it sounds this is a really good alternative. This has yet to get FDA approval (Food and Drug Administration) in the US but cultivated meat has taken off in other areas of the world. If you want to try cultivated chicken nuggets, Singapore is the place to go.
But is this better for the environment? As cultivated meat is not yet mass produced it can be difficult to predict the impact on the environment. A study by Oxford University suggests that more greenhouse gases could be produced in cultivated meat than traditional farming. However, this has been disputed as some argue it doesn’t consider the lower amount of land used. Some experts suggest that cultivated meat will use more energy, but this can be taken from renewable energy resources which overall is better than traditional farming.
Donor Organs
So, we know meat can be grown in a lab, but why stop there? Scientists have started the process of growing organs for transplants in labs. So far, they have been able to produce the epidermis layer of the skin for people with burns and even bladders and ears! This is revolutionary in the field of organ transplants as it would reduce the amount of people wating for life-saving organ donations. This also reduces the risk of rejection as the organ is made from the patients own cells. Understandably this process is very complex, but scientists aim to grow high demand organs such as livers and kidneys in the future.
Perhaps in the future we can expect some of our food come from labs instead of fields.
Thank you for reading and I hope you have learnt something interesting today!
Resources-
· History of veganism-
· Meat vs Plant based meat-
· Vegan alternatives-
· Lab-grown meat-
· Lab-grown organs-
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