Raising the stakes with lab-grown meat

Singapore recently became the first government to approve the use of lab-grown meat as an ingredient in food. Many have seen the move as a bellwether for the development of a global synthetic meat market — an innovative sector which in the long term could significantly reduce our reliance on the slaughter of animals for food while significantly reducing carbon emissions.

While the concept of growing meat in a lab has been explored through works of science fiction for decades, Nasa led the way by starting real-world experiments in this area more than 20 years ago. Initially, the costs of producing synthetic meat were commercially prohibitive. Nevertheless, scientists have continued with their efforts to grow economically viable meat from animal stem cells. Under this process, after the original stem cells are harvested, the meat produced will not have harmed an…