Josh Tetrick is the CEO of Just, a controversial food company (formally known as Hampton Creek) whose entire board quit last year. His scientists are growing meat in labs from cells, incubating them with heat and feeding them nutrients, Wired writes. They make things like foie gras, which is illegal in many states, including California, where Just’s labs are. Real foie gras is made by force-feeding a duck or goose until it’s liver blows up to 10 times its normal size. Cultivating meat in labs is not new, and scientists have been doing it for years, but Just and other startups like Finless Foods (which grows fish meat), have been feverishly pursuing this so-called “clean meat” more actively lately. Just is trying to make a cultured chorizo and a cultured nugget as well as foie gras. Tetrick says his startup has finally made the process cost-effective so that they can start to market. He says that by the end of 2018, Just will officially introduce an “as yet undisclosed lab-grown meat,” marking the first time the “meat” will hit the shelves. But will costumers buy into the idea of fake meat? There is currently little data to back up the claim that lab-grown meat is better for the planet. Whether or not Just makes it to market this year though, it seems like the clean meat era is approaching.
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