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Livestock is destroying our planet. It is a major cause of soil and water degradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, coral reef degeneration, deforestation and, of course, climate change. Herbal diets, insect breeding, lab-grown meat and genetically modified animals have all been proposed as potential solutions. What is the best?
All of these factors combined, say researchers at Tufts University.
Write in Borders in sustainable food systems, they explain why lab-grown insect meat – plant-fed and genetically engineered for optimal growth, nutrition and taste – could be a superior green alternative to producing high-volume nutritious foods .
Alternatives to conventional meat farming
"Due to environmental concerns, public health and animal welfare related to our current livestock system, it is essential to develop more sustainable food production methods," said lead author , Natalie Rubio.
Genetically modified livestock, for example, which produces less methane or resists disease, can hardly alleviate problems such as land and water degradation, deforestation and loss of biodiversity.
But for meat lovers, soya or mushroom substitutes are not up to par – and some plants are as thirsty as cattle.
Insect farming requires much less water and space – think of vertical farming – and twice as many crickets are edible as cows with large carcasses and large belly. Unsurprisingly though, the creepy crawlies prove even more difficult to swallow for consumers.
Finally, laboratory-grown meat could minimize water and space savings without compromising on taste. Growing beef, pork or chicken cells could require even more energy and resources than breeding, thus letting us trade our pets for fossil fuels. (Or is it burping?)
Laboratory insect meat
According to Rubio, a better solution could be at the intersection of all these options: insect meat grown in the laboratory – plant-fed and genetically engineered for optimal growth, nutrition and taste.
"Compared to mammalian, bird and other vertebrate cells, insect cell cultures require fewer resources and less energy-saving environmental control because they have lower glucose requirements." and can thrive in a wider range of temperature, pH, oxygen and osmolarity conditions, "reports Rubio.
"The changes needed for large-scale production are also simpler to achieve with insect cells, which are currently used for the bioproduction of insecticides, drugs, and vaccines."
Research for these applications has already led to inexpensive and animal-free growth media for insect cells – including soy and yeast-based formulas – as well as to a "suspension culture" "successful.
"In most mammalian muscle cell culture systems, cells must be fixed in a single layer on a complex growth surface to scale up for mass food production." Many insect cells can be grown in suspension free suspension of the growth medium to enable cost-effective high density cell generation, "says Rubio.
The technology developed to stimulate the movement of insect tissue for bio-robotics could also be applied to food production, as a regular contraction may be needed for the cultured insect muscle to develop a texture "fleshy". Optogenetic engineering is a particularly effective method, in which cells contract under the effect of light by introducing a new gene – another benefit of insect cells, which more readily accept modifications. than other animal cells.
How are you going to taste?
Thus, future food production could be a sight to behold: silent discotheques of insect muscles, flexing to the rhythm of lasers in vast puddles of soy juice. But how will he taste?
The short answer, says Rubio, is that nobody knows it.
"Despite this huge potential, the cultured insect meat is not ready for consumption, and research is underway to master two key processes: controlling the growth of insect cells into muscle and muscle." fat and combine them into 3D cultures with a meat-like texture – chitosan-based sponges – a fiber derived from the fungus that is also present in the invertebrate exoskeleton – are a promising option. "
In the end, plowing insects may give more familiar flavors.
"Advances in insect cell culture and tissue engineering can potentially translate into lobster, crab and shrimp, because of the evolving proximity of insects and crustaceans," suggests Rubio.
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