“Real Meat. No Compromise.” That’s the lofty goal that Memphis Meats has as its mission statement: To usher in a new world of meat. But instead of harvesting this meat from animals — with all the associated environmental impact and ethical concerns of factory farming — Memphis Meats is culturing their meat in a laboratory from real animal cells.
Sound to good to be true? Well it isn’t — and that’s what we’re here to explore together. Let’s take a deep dive into everything that’s out there on Memphis Meats and the cell-cultured meat revolution. By the time you’re finished reading, I think you’ll go away with a new-found optimism for the future of food.
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What Is Memphis Meats?
Memphis Meats is one of the earliest faces in the cultured meat market. Founded in 2015 on the back of more than a decade of research by cardiologist Dr. Uma Valeti, it’s a company whose mission is to make cell-cultured meat available to the widest possible audience. This includes the company’s aim to feed more than 10 billion people by 2050 — a sizable goal, indeed!
At present, Memphis Meats is the worldwide leader in the cultured meat movement. They’ve had great success with their experiments so far, and have already produced three unique types of lab-grown meat (more on that in a minute). And investors have taken notice, with the like of Tyson Foods, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson all pitching in to make cultured meat a reality.
It’s been called “The clean meat of the future” and “The hottest tech in Silicon Valley“, but from the perspective of the company’s founders, things are just getting started.
How Does Memphis Meats Work?
Making each of Memphis Meats’ products starts in the same way: With a single cell. Their trained scientists identify and select specific cells that are capable of self-renewing growth, which will allow them to become lab-grown meats.
Next, those cells are given new life in the controlled environment of the laboratory. You are what you eat, and so are cells — so Memphis Meats creates an ideal solution of essential nutrients to feed these growing cells. Soon, they’ll begin to divide and multiply, creating the foundation for larger servings of meat.
Using a special vessel known only as a “cultivator”, Memphis Meats controls temperature and growth conditions to encourage the cells to take on a familiar form. Muscle and connective tissue grow, just like in an animal, at the genetic directive of the original cells.
Four to six weeks later, and you’ll have fully formed lab-grown meat!
For a closer look into the general process used for making lab grown meat, check out this video:
Memphis Meats’ Product Lines
While Memphis Meats waits for FDA approval of lab-grown meat, their products are not available for sale to the general public. Though with current trends, many are hopeful that 2021 could be the year for lab grown meat’s debut on supermarket shelves!
Once that day comes, Memphis meats will have at least three products ready to go: Lab-grown chicken, beef in the form of meatballs, and duck breast. I for one can’t wait to try them in my favorite recipes.
How Do Memphis Meats’ Products Taste?
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth at least a million, right? I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting Memphis Meats’ products, so I’ll let their specially selected taste testers give their impressions instead.
Here’s a peek at their first cell-based meatball tasting:
Their first cell-based poultry tasting:
And one more, with an improved chicken product:
Where to Buy Memphis Meats
You’ll have to wait patiently along with us here at Price of Meat for a first taste of Memphis Meats. We all have our fingers crossed that these delicious cultured meats will be available by the end of 2021! In the meantime, you can join the Memphis Meats newsletter to stay completely up to date on their goings on, and be one of the first to know when their meats are available for sale.