Dutch attempt to grow edible pork in laboratory

Dutch researchers are trying to grow pork meat in a laboratory with the goal of feeding millions without the need to raise and slaughter animals.

“We're trying to make meat without having to kill animals”, Bernard Roelen, a veterinary science professor at Utrecht University, said.

Although it is in its early stages, the idea is to replace harvesting meat from livestock with a process that eliminates the need for animal feed, transport, land use and the methane expelled by animals, which all hurt the environment, he said.



Asked whether people would be repulsed by lab-grown meat, Prof Roelen said he believed there would be enough demand, as much of what people eat today is already extensively processed, from the feed that animals consume to the conditions under which they are raised and the preparation of meat after slaughter.

“I can imagine that some people will have problems with it,” he said.

“People might think it is artificial. But some people might not realise that some part of the meat they eat is artificial.”