Science & Technology

Would you drink milk grown in a lab ?

By T.K. Randall
October 23, 2014 ·  50 comments

Dairy products grown in a lab could become commonplace in the future. Image Credit: sxc.hu In an effort to further advance the field of artificial animal products, two bioengineers based in Silicon Valley are attempting to use genetically engineered yeast to create the world's first lab grown milk substitute without the need for any cows.

"If we want the world to change its diet from a product that isn't sustainable to something that is, it has to be identical [to], or better than, the original product," said co-founder Perumal Gandhi.Unlike other milk substitutes such as those based on soy or almonds, the petri dish milk will retain both the taste and nutritional value of the genuine article because its yeast cultures will be producing real milk proteins. It will also have the potential to be a far more efficient product as it won't be necessary to breed and maintain a large number of farm animals in order to make it.

"Making an entire cow to make just the milk is inefficient," said Gandhi. "You're giving it all this feed and water, and most of it goes towards growing legs, growing a head, growing a liver and lungs."

Whether the general populace will actually drink the substitute milk however remains to be seen.

Source: National Geographic | Comments (50)

Tags: Milk, Artificial, Lab Grown