If you’re not comfortable with the idea of animals being killed for their meat, or if you believe that our growing consumption and demand for meat is leading to negative changes in our environment and climate, then you might be aware that work is being done on “growing” meat in laboratories, where scientists attempt to recreate meat using science.
Now it seems that our attempts at creating meat from scratch has expanded to space, where for the first time ever, astronauts have been successful at growing meat in space. This is thanks to work by Aleph Farms and their partners where in the Russian section of the International Space Station, astronauts used a bioprinter to produce a cultivated piece of beef steak.
According to the company, this achievement is rather significant due to the fact that in space, astronauts do not have access to the same resources that scientists on Earth usually do. Didier Toubia, Co-Founder and CEO of Aleph Farms says, “In space, we don’t have 10,000 or 15,000 Liter (3962.58 Gallon) of water available to produce one Kg (2.205 Pound) of beef. This joint experiment marks a significant first step toward achieving our vision to ensure food security for generations to come, while preserving our natural resources.”
That being said, this meat is far from ready for mass production but there are plans to expand on the experiment for the future.