Kill-Free Meat Coming To A Store Near You Soon?

Growing up in Wisconsin, meat eating and, to a lesser extent, hunting were a massive part of life. While I enjoy the occasional meat-free meal, becoming a vegetarian was never really in the cards despite its obvious health benefits and way to get around the factory meat production that occurs all over the country.

While free-range and cruelty-free options spring up all the time along with astronomical costs that allow for ethical meat eating for many, some simply find the process cruel if any killing is in order. I know others that are certainly on the other end of this spectrum and would eat a vegetarian before actually becoming one.

But new research from the University of Minnesota may present another option altogether: the ability to enjoy meat knowing no animal was killed to provide you with its protein. The researchers have “stumbled” upon a way to harvest animal cells in about three weeks and have made kill-free meat a distinct possibility.

In addition to removing the “meat is murder” mantra, Dr. Uma Valeti and his team are producing meats low in saturated fats, free of bacterial contamination and environmentally friendly given the methane release of livestock and carbon dioxide emitted by all types of farming especially factory farming.

“The meat that we are growing is identical at the molecular and cellular level,” Valeti recently told reporters. “Cultured meat will completely replace the status quo and make raising animals to eat them simply unthinkable.”

This research led Valeti to start Memphis Meats in San Francisco where he holds the CEO position. The company hopes to be commercially producing kill-free beef, pork and chicken products to stores and restaurants within three years and is even looking at expansion into China and India.