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Washington: One study suggests that 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. .
"Because of the environmental, public health and animal welfare concerns badociated with our current farming system, it is essential to develop more sustainable methods of food production," said Natalie Rubio of the company. Tufts University in the United States.
According to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, genetically modified livestock, for example, which produces less methane or resists disease, can do nothing to alleviate problems such as land degradation and land degradation. water, deforestation and loss of biodiversity.
However, for meat lovers, soy-based substitutes or mushrooms simply do not fall in place – and some crops are as thirsty as livestock. Insect farming requires much less water and space, and cricket is twice as edible as that of a big-bovine cow with a big belly.
Unsurprisingly though, the creepy crawlies prove even more difficult to swallow for consumers. Laboratory-grown meat could also reduce water and space savings without compromising taste, researchers said.
Growing beef, pork or chicken cells could require even more energy and resources than livestock, they said. A better solution, said Rubio, could be found 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 temperature, pH, oxygen and osmolarity range, "says Rubio.
"The changes needed for large-scale production are also simpler to achieve with insect cells, which are currently used for the manufacture of insecticides, drugs and vaccines," he said. declared.
Research for these applications has already led to the creation of inexpensive and animal-free growth media for insect cells – including soy and yeast-based preparations – as well as a "culture" in suspension "successful.
"In most mammalian muscle cell culture systems, cells must be fixed in a single layer on a growing surface – which is complex to scale up for mbad food production.
"Many insect cells, however, can be grown in free suspension in a growth medium suspension to enable cost-effective and high-density cell generation," said Rubio.
The technology developed to stimulate the movement of insect tissue for biological robotics purposes could also be applied to food production, as a regular contraction may be required for the cultured insect muscle to develop a "fleshy" texture.
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.
"Despite this immense potential, the cultivated insect meat is not ready for consumption," Rubio said.
"Research is underway to master two key processes: controlling the development of insect cells into muscle and fat, and combining them in 3D with a meat-like texture.
"For these, chitosan sponges – a fiber derived from fungus that is also present in the invertebrate exoskeleton – are a promising option," he said.
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