Dutch researchers are investigating a new method to produce synthetic meat without having to slaughter animals to cater to the demand for meat.
In a paper published in Trends in Biotechnology's June issue, the researchers, Cor van der Weele and biotechnologist Johannes Tramper, from the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands, have proposed a new way to use the agricultural infrastructure to grow lab meat.
Under the new process, stem cells taken periodically from the livestock will be mass-replicated using bioreactors.
Cor van der Weele, one of the Dutch researchers said, "Pigs can act as living cell banks, while also keeping us in touch with animals, as well as the sources of our food."
"Here, all of a sudden, we get a glimpse of a possible world in which we can have it all: meat, the end of animal suffering, the company of animals and simple technology close to our homes," he noted.
The latest process joins a list of several lab-grown meat techniques that are being tried by various biotech start-ups for many years.
In 2013, Google founder Sergey Brin introduced a $330,000 hamburger made from test tube cells.
