Sheet + Meat = Shmeat

Sometimes (although rarely), I like to be healthy. In those rare, fleeting moments, I often pick up a copy of Seattle's Conscious Choice magazine to learn about the latest health fads. This month's issue had a particularly interested (and disgusting) topic: Shmeat. What on earth is shmeat? Well, its also known as virto meat, cultured meat, victimless meat, vat-grown meat and various other terms to describe meat that was basically grown in a test tube. Shmeat is grown from cell culture (harvested cells from an animal) and placed in a nutrient-rich medium (like blood). Once the cells multiple, they are attached to a spongy scaffold (or sheet) that has been socked with nutrients and stretched to increase cell size and protein content. Sheet + Meat = Shmeat. While this type of meat obviously has its pros and cons,  according to Jason Matheny, director of New Harvest, a nonprofit working to develop meat substitutes, “a single cell could theoretically produce the world’s annual meat supply.” That's one pro that's hard to overlook in a world still stricken with starving third world countries. Read on to learn more.



-posted by Shawnna