Mammoth meatball. In times when technological advances raise more blisters than passions, some have set out to demonstrate their potential in the kitchen. The production of meat from an animal extinct 4,000 years ago, grown in the laboratory, has been the latest advance of the Australian company Vow. An inedible dish that only intends to motivate responsible food production to alleviate environmental pollution.
Products of the future that are prepared with meat from the past. Inside the laboratory, the DNA sequence of the myoglobin protein of the pachyderm, responsible for giving flavor, color and texture to the meat, was identified. Genetic gaps were filled in with fragments of the genome of the mammoth's closest living relative, the African elephant. The synthesized gene was inserted into the stem cell of a sheep with the help of an electrical discharge. Like the process of creating Frankenstein, but to invent food.
All these cells were grown in a laboratory to multiply. After the whole process, they obtained around 400 grams of meat from an extinct mammoth that no one will be able to consume. The reason is that, having been produced from meat that disappeared thousands of years ago, there is no way of knowing how the human body would react to its digestion, and it could be dangerous to health.
The startup responsible for this experiment professes that "food as we know it doesn't need to be as we know it." The idea of reproducing an animal that disappeared from Earth 4,000 years ago arose, according to its creators, "because it is a symbol of what has been lost due to climate changes throughout history." A giant meatball that does not intend to resurrect extinct animals, but to give life to a new production model.
It is a peculiar dish that, without a doubt, has achieved its purpose of attracting attention. The company assures that it is already in the process of investigating the potential offered by meat from 50 different species, including fish and reptiles such as crocodiles, alpaca or kangaroo, as well as other mammals and birds. "We look for cells that are easy to grow, tasty and nutritious, and we combine them to create really tasty meat," said George Peppou, CEO of the company.
It should be noted that the free production and sale of cultured meat is currently only legal in Singapore. The United States has already given its approval to a couple of companies that want to start marketing their products in the near future, and in Europe most countries do not have legislation in this regard yet, but almost all of them are promoting research projects to study your chances. Spain is in third place among European countries that most bet on this type of meat.
Precisely this week, laboratory meat was the protagonist after Italy's announcement to ban the sale and production of this synthetic food. The country considers that this industry directly collides with Italian economic and cultural interests and has therefore decided to put a stop to it. However, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) has already indicated this type of meat as a possible alternative to avoid large farms or slaughterhouses, and more and more people believe that it is the future.
