Isn’t it lovely to spend time with our family, cooking delicacies and continuing holiday traditions that have been passed on for generations? Food undoubtedly plays a major role in these traditions—Christmas would be incomplete without the delicious ham, pigs in a blanket, and roasted potatoes. However, there are often food shortages across the country, as well as in the rest of the world. To ensure our holiday dinners reach our plates, food production goes into overdrive.
What does the future of food production look like?
Our current farming methods are not sustainable. This is where biotechnology comes into play; not only is biotech a major component of modern medicine, but it’s also an important part of growing food. Yellow Biotechnology aims to improve food and nutrition and pest resistance. Meat companies like Mosa Meat and Perfect Day are searching for ways to reduce animal farming, by using alternatives to the traditional blood serum used in cultivated meat. While completely overcoming world hunger is not realistic within the confines of our current resources, partially lab-grown meat may make this a possibility in the future.
Current lab-grown foods:
According to research, in the UK, a well-renowned company, Mosa Meat produced its first lab-grown beef burger in 2013. There are also companies like SuperMeats and US company Memphis Meats which have made meat-free chicken nuggets. When the public tried the chicken nuggets, they were surprised to see that there was no difference from traditional chicken nuggets. Next, Memphis Meats plans on creating an alternative to the world-famous “pigs in a blanket”.
Also, a French Biotech company, Cellectis, created a genetic editing tool called TALEN which has been found helpful for treating cancer. Its subform, known as Calyxt, is useful for producing healthier food. So far, the study shows that potatoes and soybeans have been used to test the genetic tool. Interestingly, Calyxt contains an enzyme that removes starch, creating genetically modified foods, including potatoes, that are more healthy.
Biotechnology continues to expand its influence to a wide range of fields, and will inevitably play a major role in many aspects of human life.
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