What is synthetic meat that Bill Gates is vouching for? Will it help fight climate change?

American business magnate and the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates believes that all rich countries should switch to eat ‘100% synthetic’ meat in order to combat climate change. The third-richest man in the world suggested his ideas about synthetic meat as the way forward to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in a new interview with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review. Gates assured that people can ‘get used to the taste’ and said that people are claiming it will even get better ‘with time’.

When asked about how to reduce the methane emission which is a greenhouse gas, Bill Gates said, ‘I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic meat. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time. Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the [behaviour of] people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.’

Bill Gates’ new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” has come out on February 16. In the same interview, he also talked about the challenges in tackling the emissions when it comes to livestock and suggested that ‘faux’ meat might be a way to move forward while also noting the popularity of ‘Impossible Foods’. The Microsoft co-founder had said, “There are all the things where they feed them different food like there’s this one compound that gives you a 20% reduction [in methane emissions]”

Read - Sonu Sood Makes An Appeal To Fans, Encourages To Consume 'meat-free Meals' In PETA Ad

Read - PepsiCo Goes Beyond Meat In New Partnership

What is synthetic meat?

Synthetic or cultured meat that Bill Gates mentioned in an interview with MIT Technology Review, is produced by the in vitro cell culture of animal cells instead of livestock. Basically, it is a form of cellular agriculture and the cultured meat is produced using many of the same tissue engineering techniques that are used in regenerative medicine. Science Focus said in an article that the world had watched as food critics tucked into the first-ever lab-grown burger, back in 2013.  That pink patty that was placed in front of the media took two years to prepare and over $300,000 to produce. 

However, since then, the cost of producing artificial meat has plunged. In January 2016, a company called ‘Memphis Meats’ produced a “cultured meatball” for around $1,000. Now, several start-ups and non-profit organisations are working on several other lab-grown animal products including pork, chicken, turkey, fish, milk, egg whites, gelatin, and even leather.

Read - Leopard Killed, Meat Consumed; 5 Arrested

Read - China Blames Foreign Travellers And Meat Imports For Surge In COVID-19 Cases