SuperMeat: The Ethical, Sustainable, and Affordable Solution to Our Meat Problem
The number one response most vegans or vegetarians get when they explain their lifestyle is “Oh, I could never do that. I like [insert type of meat here] too much.” Pot roast, coconut shrimp, chicken nuggets, turkey bacon; you name it and there is a whole horde of people who love it so much they would never even dream of switching to an ethical plant-based lifestyle. But what if those people could have their steak and eat it too, without harming any animals at all?
In about five years, they can.
No, I’m not talking about Tofurkey or pulled pork made from carrot shavings. I’m talking about real meat that, instead of being produced from a dead animal, is produced in a lab. Enter SuperMeat, an Isreali start-up company that is currently developing a cultured or “in-vitro” meat product that is grown from animal stem cells. According to the company’s website, the product will taste exactly like real meat because it IS real meat. Their slogan is: “100% meat, 0% animal suffering.” Yes you read that correctly! No animals will be harmed in the production of this product.
Other noteworthy statistics of SuperMeat are that it requires 99% less land, uses 90% less water, and emits 90% less greenhouse gases than traditional animal agriculture. This is incredible news, because some scientists have dubbed Animal Agriculture as the leading cause of climate change. Livestock and their byproducts produce an estimated 51% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and are responsible for 65% of human-related emissions of nitrous oxide. Animal agriculture directly or indirectly uses 80-90% of the US water supply. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef (that’s 4 measly quarter-pounders from Wendy’s). And Animal Agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon Rainforest destruction. Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to increase substantially by 2050.
The reality is that animal agriculture is the chief cause of species extinction, water pollution, and habitat destruction. If we continue down the path that we have been carelessly trekking, we will only be wreaking more havoc on our beautiful planet and the animals and plants that we share it with. Our careless waste of resources and disregard for the health of the environment will have serious and even catastrophic consequences. SuperMeat could not have come at a better time.
As if being environmentally friendly and ethical wasn’t great enough, there is a cherry on top of this SuperMeat ice-cream sundae; it’s predicted to be cheaper than factory-farmed animal products. One of the main criticisms of the plant based lifestyle is that it is more expensive than the standard American diet, and therefore, inaccessible for the lower classes. SuperMeat could be the solution to this problem.
In fact, it seems like SuperMeat could be the solution to all of our problems. Affordable, sustainable, non-GMO, and ethical: is it is it too good to be true? Of course, it’s only reasonable to be skeptical, especially because media advertisements don’t often tell the whole truth, and leave out important factual details. There is only one way to find out. We have to sit tight and wait for SuperMeat to hit supermarkets in an estimated five years. One thing is for sure: it’s a step in the right direction.
SuperMeat is asking for donations to help them reach their goal of $500,000, which will aid the company is developing their product. Anyone who makes a donation will receive a voucher in the mail for SuperMeat products that can be redeemed once the products are available for purchase. They have gathered a team of chemical and biomedical engineers, stem-cell biologists, and vascular biologists to develop this product and it is currently in production right now. The company is also on the lookout for bright young minds to join the research team, and urges interested postdoctoral fellows and PhD students to apply for a position on the research team. What is that saying? Real superheroes don’t wear capes. In this case, they wear lab coats. Science is SO COOL.
The most important thing about SuperMeat is that it has the potential to save billions of animal lives. So if you are looking for a great Christmas gift for your animal-loving friend, look no further. A small donation to SuperMeat’s cause could help change the world.
You can learn more at www.supermeat.com.