In a tale of which science-fiction meets reality, the world's first lab-grown burger from cow muscle grown was fried and eaten at a news conference in London on Monday, according to reports. Tasters say they had hoped for a bit more flavor from the revolutionary burger.
This lab-grown burger was created by Professor Mark Post, and his team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. The hopes for the burger would be to open the way to end to the global food crisis due to the effects of climate change.
Scientists made the burger by taking cells from a cow and, at an institute in the Netherlands, and turned them into strips of muscle that were mixed to form a burger patty. Although taste may have been lacking, according to the tasters, it is a first step in what could possibly be a new way of sustainable eating.
The event was broadcast live online and aimed to garner attention and funding for the further development of lab-grown food. Post said that lab-made meat could provide high-quality protein for the world's growing population while avoiding most of the environmental and animal-welfare issues related to conventional livestock production.
The burger was cooked by chef Richard McGowan, from Cornwall, and tasted by food critics Hanni Ruetzler and Josh Schonwald, according to the BBC.
This might have been the most expensive burger ever, costing $325,000 for the two-year project to produce the one burger, plus extra tissue for testing, according to the New York Times.
Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, was revealed as the financial backer behind this project. Dr. Post said Brin got involved because "he basically shares the same concerns about the sustainability of meat production and animal welfare."
