Edible insects? Lab-grown meat? The real future food is lab-grown insect meat

Livestock farming is destroying our planet. It is a major cause of land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, coral reef degeneration, deforestation and of course, climate change. Plant-based diets, insect farming, lab-grown meat, and genetically modified animals have all been proposed as potential solutions. Which is best? All of these combined, say researchers.

Alternatives to conventional meat farming:

Genetically modified livestock, for example, that produce less methane or resist disease can do little to relieve issues like land and water degradation, deforestation and biodiversity loss. But for meat-lovers, soy- or mushroom-based substitutes just don't hit the spot -- and some plant crops are as thirsty as livestock.

Insect farming has a much lower water and space requirement, think vertical farming and twice as much of a cricket is edible than of a big-boned, big-bellied cow. Unsurprisingly though, creepy crawlies are proving even harder for consumers to swallow.

Finally, lab-grown meat could squeeze water and space savings furthest of all, without compromising on taste. Culturing beef, pork or chicken cells might require even more energy and resources than livestock farming

Lab-grown insect meat:

Research for these applications has led already to inexpensive, animal-free growth media for insect cells including soy and yeast-based formulas as well as successful 'suspension culture'.

Technology developed to stimulate the movement of insect tissue for bio-robotics could also be applied to food production, since regular contraction may be required for cultured insect muscle to develop a 'meaty' texture. A particularly efficient method is optogenetic engineering, whereby cells are made to contract in response to light by introducing a new gene -- another advantage of insect cells, which more readily accept genetically modifications then do other animal cells.

 

How will it tastes?

So, future food production could be a sight to behold: silent discos of insect muscles, flexing to the pulse of lasers in vast pools of soy juice. But how will it taste?

According to researchers, despite this immense potential, cultured insect meat isn't ready for consumption. Research is ongoing to master two key processes: controlling the development of insect cells into muscle and fat and combining these in 3D cultures with a meat-like texture. For the latter, sponges made from chitosan a mushroom-derived fiber that is also present in the invertebrate exoskeleton are a promising option.