In vitro meat: Possibilities and Realities for an Alternative Future Meat Source
Date: August 31 - September 2, 2011
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Organizing Committee
Patric Wallin (Workshop Administrator), Biological Physics, Chalmers University of Technology,
wallinp@chalmers.se
The concept of in vitro meat – also known as cultured meat or laboratory grown meat – is not new, yet not until the 1990’s and the emergence of the tissue engineering field, did in vitro meat become a conceivable reality. Today, the challenge still remains to grow meat (skeletal muscle of animal origin) in bioreactors, and in large scale, in order to provide a potentially safer, more environmentally sustainable meat source to satisfy the increasing world demand for meat. In order to succeed, public acceptance and debate are necessary. Researchers working in this area are few and scattered, and need to collaborate in order to advance understanding of, and developments in, the science, technology, and social and cultural impact of growing meat without animals.
It is our hope that by meeting together to assess the current status of the field and to form a tighter network, we will be able to create new and more balanced research constellations that will be more successful in obtaining funding for research & development of in vitro meat. This is the first goal of the Exploratory Workshop. We feel there is a need for a comprehensive and updated reporting on in vitro meat to the public, the scientific community, industry and political decision makers, and this is the second main goal of the Exploratory Workshop.