McFadden, C. (2024, January 26). Study slashes lab-grown meat cost, engineers bovine muscle stem cells. New technique could yield cheaper, tastier lab-grown meat. https://interestingengineering.com/science/cheaper-lab-grown-meat-production

A group of scientists from Tufts University made a breakthrough in synthetic meat production. This breakthrough has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of synthetic meat production. The group engineered stem cells to produce FGF which is a key component in triggering skeletal muscle cell growth which is needed to produce the meat. This new strategy is replaces the old one that contributed to 90% of the production cost for lab-grown meat. This means with this new technique we could see lab-grown meat dropping down to much more affordable levels.

This article was very exciting to read. With this breakthrough, there is potential for lab-grown meat to drop to levels comparable with actual meat. The cost is considered one of the biggest issues with current synthetic meat meaning if there is a way to overcome that the potential for synthetic meat can be much greater than we thought. This relates to environmental science as this breakthrough could lead to synthetic meat taking up a much larger market share for all meat. Lab-grown meat is much more environmentally friendly meaning if there is a way to bring the cost to a comparable level, the actual production and need for meat will drop as well. This would allow for a great decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production.