Test Tube Hamburger

The most expensive burger in history is expected to be served up someday soon at an event in London. The five-ounce, lab-grown patty was created at a whopping cost of $325,000 (thanks to an anonymous donor) from about 20,000 thin strips of cultured muscle tissue.

Why grow a hamburger patty in the lab? By 2020, there could be as many as a billion people entering the lower middle class in developing regions of the world, and they will want more meat in their diet. Because there is limited land for growing cattle on a massive scale, scientists are working on new ways to fill that near future need.

But don’t expect in vitro meat to hit restaurants and store shelves any time soon. The current process uses stem cells grown in a medium containing fetal calf serum, which will need to be replaced with non-animal derived plant materials to make commercialization practical. Even then, it remains to be seen whether lab methods can reduce energy, land and water use enough to provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional farming methods. And finally, there’s the question of whether large populations from around the world will want to eat meat grown in a laboratory, even if it is the only way to get meat in their diet.