Science

Quirks & Quarks examines lab-grown meat

CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks launches its new season with a feature that looks at the benefits and difficulties of making meat in a lab.

The challenges of making meat from muscle cells of cows

Lab meat was grown from the shoulder muscle cells of two organically raised cows. (CBC)

The world's first meat grown in a lab was cooked and eaten at a public demonstration in London, England in August.

Two volunteers took the first public bites of hamburger, made from cow stem cells, and gave it good marks for texture but said it needed some flavour enhancements.

"It's not perfect, but it's a good start," said Mark Post, the Dutch scientist who lead the team that created the meat.

Post's research team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands developed the burger over five years, producing it from the shoulder muscle cells of two organically raised cows.

The cells were then immersed in a nutrient solution to help them develop into muscle tissue, and they grew into small strands of meat. It took nearly 20,000 strands to make a single 140-gram patty.

CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks launched its new season with a feature looking at the benefits and difficulties of making meat in the lab.

With files from The Associated Press