Lab-Grown Meat Could Be in Stores Within Five Years

According to a company called Memphis Meats, within the next five years we could all be biting into burgers grown in a lab. The company, which was founded by three scientists, is working on growing cow, chicken, and pig meat using stem cells from those animals. They’ve already grown small quantities of each and have even cooked the world’s first lab-grown meatball to prove their synthetic meat tastes the same. 

According to Fortune, Memphis Meat isn’t the only company working on lab-grown meats. Competitors like Mosa Meat and Modern Meadow Inc. have been making similar claims about the imminent rise of lab-grown meats. In 2013, Mark Post of Mosa Meat even cooked a stem cell burger, which cost around $330,000 to create. 

Memphis Meats co-founder Uma Valeti claims lab-grown meat will revolutionize the food industry as much as the domestication of animals did thousands of years ago. According to Valeti, the meat will not only save animals’ lives, but will have less of an impact on the environment than the traditional meat industry. Valeti claims lab-grown meat will consume 90% less water and land, as well as 50% less energy overall. He’s so confident in the revolutionary nature of his work, he’s calling it the “second domestication.” Valeti told Fortune, “I have not walked out of a room after showing our science without having an incredibly supportive, jaw-dropping response.”