It is not science fiction. It is a reality today."
Lab Rats
The Bay Area's new facility produces lab-grown meat on a large scale. It can produce an astounding 400,000 pounds of meat per year, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. However, for the moment, production is limited at 50,000 pounds per.
The factory is 53,000 square feet in size and is managed by Upside Foods, a Berkeley spinoff.
With new facilities opening all over the globe, the lab-grown meat industry is just getting off to a good start. These benefits are obvious: ending our dependence on livestock production could have substantial effects on greenhouse gas emissions, while still allowing us the pleasure of a juicy burger.
Reality Check
Despite the impressive output, both the Food and Drugs Administration and Department of Agriculture still have not cleared lab-grown meat for sale in the US. However, Amy Chen, Upside Foods CEO is not discouraged.
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Chen said to the Chronicle that it is not a fantasy. It's science fiction. It is a fact of life today.
This product is made in the same way as other lab-grown meat products. Live animals are grown in large bioreactors with specialized nutrients. This scaffold-like meat can then be customized to make different levels of fat or muscle.
The company is now waiting for regulators' approval. Upside Foods has begun reaching out to chefs and restaurants. If all goes well, it will then sell the lab-grown meat in grocery stores.
Chen said that the meat could cost as much as higher-end poultry, and it could be as expensive as chicken.
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Will that convince them to switch to plant-based meats? It remains to be seen.
READ MORE: This is not science fiction. A New East Bay facility that produces lab-grown meat plans on producing 400,000 pounds annually [San Francisco Chronicle]
Learn more about lab-grown meat: Scientists genetically modify plants to grow meat protein
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