It’s funny what people think about when big News hits. As the world’s first test-tube burger was announced last week our first thought was Star Trek.
There was a time we could recite the lines about going where no man had gone before, and how space was the final frontier.
Having spent our early years with a black and white television, the switch to colour heightened the senses as far as the crazy uniforms and gadgets were concerned.
On Star Trek space travelers ordered food or drink from a computer. Since high definition TV hadn’t been invented yet, their dinners looked no better than a blob of brightly coloured jello. It could be red or green, depending on how the colour was set on the television. To borrow a word from that era, it looked nothing short of gross.
But, people had to eat in outer-space, so we accepted that. It didn’t stop young minds from wondering aloud how food didn’t come from the ground or from livestock. We may have even laughed our heads off at how crazy Star Trek or other science fiction shows of the day were … meat that didn’t come from an animal.
Earth is now one step closer to the final frontier it seems.
A team of researchers in the Netherlands grew the test-tube meat from the muscle cells of two organic cows. The science behind it eludes us, but it sounds fascinating and the patty did look real.
The testing was actually part of a philanthropic challenge funded to help slow down climate change and spare the slaughter of animals. There is little argument that livestock farming is intense and impacts the environment. As our population grows, so does the stress on the planet.
Reports suggest the test-tube meat was less than satisfying. It was a very lean product, missing the fat that gives meat additional flavour. That problem could be tweaked in the next round of testing.
It is amazing that something once utterly laughable is now possible.
