Burger Made in the Lab: What is 

Cultured Meat? 
 

Photo by David Parry / PA Wire 

 
Imagine eating a juicy beef burger that is almost identical to your typical burger, except 
that it didn’t come from an animal...not directly, anyway. Instead of slaughtering a cow, we only 
need to collect a piece of tissue as small as the size of a sesame seed to make that burger 
patty...in a lab. Apparently, not all foods have to be made in the kitchen! Yes, it is possible, and it’s 
called cultured meat.

What is cultured meat? 

Cultured meat is also known as in-vitro, synthetic, laboratory-grown, or stem cell meat. It 
refers to artificially synthesized meat made from cell culture rather than animal slaughter. Some 
also call it clean meat because of the fact that it doesn’t come at a cost of the life of an animal. As 
unnatural as it sounds, cultured meat is made out of real muscle cells, just like traditional meat.  
 
The ​production​ of cultured meat generally involves the extraction of muscle cells from a 
live animal and proliferation of those cells in a nutrient medium. The culture medium, which 
contains essential vitamins, amino acids, and food source, allows the cells to grow and multiply in 
vitro. The resulting product is meat fibers that can be harvested and further processed as meat or 
its products. 

What kinds of meat can be produced with cellular 

agriculture? 

The first cultured meat product made was a beef patty, which took three months to grow 
using stem cells from a cow’s shoulder. While it is true that the majority of cultured meat 
produced has been beef, some food scientists have successfully used muscle cells from fish, 
chicken​, and other donor animals to make different varieties of meat tissue.  
 
In the future, food scientists are hoping to also bring ​cultured milk and eggs​ to the table.  
 
What does cultured meat look like? 

The color of currently formed muscle fibers is yellow, not pink / red like conventional meat 
that usually appear on dinner tables. Another thing to note is: the majority of cultured meat 
produced is soft ground and lacking three dimensional structure. Therefore, it is more likely to 
appear in more processed forms rather than highly structured steaks.  
 
However, just like the majority of foods we eat today, cultured products can be treated 
with artificial flavors and food coloring to resemble traditionally farmed meat as much as possible.  

Does it taste good?  

 The first cultured beef hamburger, made by Dutch scientist ​Mark Post​, was tasted on 
August 5, 2013 in London by a panel of sensory judges, who reported that the meat was similar in 
texture to that of traditional meat, yet the flavor was a little different. This is most likely due to the 
fact that real muscle tissue, though largely composed of muscle cells, also contains some amounts 
of nerve, blood, and fat cells, which are either present in very low proportions or completely absent 
in laboratory-grown meat. However, compared to veggie burgers and other plant alternatives, the 
taste of cultured meat should mirror that of real meat much more closely, because they are built 
with roughly the same components on a molecular level.  
 
Is it a better food choice than traditionally farmed 
meat?  

The whole purpose of inventing cultured meat is to substitute traditionally farmed meat. 
Research​ has shown that the process of making cultured meat products is less stressful on the 
environment with a lower carbon footprint and water usage. It is also associated with fewer animal 
welfare concerns, ethical controversies, and agricultural burdens. If mass produced, cultured meat 
could be an answer to a more sustainable future as we face global warming, depletion of natural 
resources, and the pressing need to feed an exponentially growing human population.  
 
The theoretical benefits of cultured meat include avoiding foodborne illness attributable to 
fecal contamination, reducing transmission of epidemic zoonotic diseases, and designing better 
nutritional profiles than traditional meat. While these ​proposed advantages​ are promising to the 
future market of cultured meat, the specific impacts it can bring are not yet supported by 
measurable evidence.  

Are there any health risks associated with 

cultured meat? 

There are concerns on the genetic instability of stem cells, which can potentially develop 
into cancerous tissue after a high number of proliferations. While it is very unlikely for cancerous 
cells to cause harm after the meat is thoroughly cooked, eaten, and digested, this remains a 
sensitive question that has not been officially addressed.  
 
Another potential risk involves the culture medium, which is usually composed of animal 
sera. This poses some concerns, including possible transmission of pathogens, infectious diseases, 
and other health considerations. However, there are food scientists looking into developing a 
serum-free media​ from mushroom extract, which will eliminate these risks.  

What is the current cost of cultured meat? 

Theoretically, cultured foods should cost less than conventional meat because its 
production requires less labor and resource. However, the technology itself is an expensive 
process. The biggest expense is the nutrient medium, which needs to be replaced as the muscle 
cells proliferate.  
 
The first cultured beef burger cost $325,000 and took about three months to make. In the 
following years, researchers have managed to reduce that price down to around ​$11​, which is 
affordable but still higher than a conventional meat patty.  

When will cultured meat be commercially 

available? 

This technology is relatively new and therefore still has a number of limitations and 
unanswered scientific inquiries. In terms of scale and efficiency, the methodology of synthesizing 
cultured meat still needs improvement. As of now, large-scale production is still out of reach due 
to the absence of a large-capacity bioreactor to feed a greater number of cells. As a result, 
scientists do not have a formal prediction regarding when products may become widely available 
on the market. 
 
The good news is… 
 
For those of you who are eager to try cultured meat, there are several restaurants that 
offer such products. ​Bistro in Vitro​, the world’s first lab-grown meat restaurant, is one of them. 
Memphis Meats​ is another lead in food revolution.  
 
Cultured meat is slaughter-free, realistic, sustainable, and made of real muscle cells. This 
technology is rapidly developing and ​approaching​ the food market. So the ultimate question is, are 
you willing to take a bite?