Black technology or commercial gimmick？ You need to know more about artificial meat.

　　What is vegetarian meat?

　　Or vegetable meat, that is, it is made by using vegetable protein raw materials, mainly soybean protein, wheat protein, pea protein, etc., and adding plant hemoglobin synthesized by yeast.

　　What is artificial meat?

　　Refers to vegetable protein meat and clean meat, also known as vegetarian meat and test-tube meat.

　　In fact, artificial meat has long been used. The well-known lunch meat, ham sausage, etc. are all filled with soybean protein and are all processed from soybean meal.

　　What is test tube meat?

　　Myoblasts or totipotent stem cells isolated from animals are cultured in nutrient solution to promote them to form muscle-like tissues, which are similar in appearance and taste to traditional meat.

　　Zhang Bo, a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Products Processing of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that researchers in the United States and the Netherlands have made breakthroughs in the research of this product, which is called clean meat or test-tube meat.

　　Recently, the new word artificial meat has come into public view.

　　What exactly is artificial meat? Will the future go to the people’s table?

　　Why study artificial meat?

　　The main solution is not the food problem.

　　Many people in the industry said in an interview that artificial meat is only a convenient expression for the public to understand. Strictly speaking, the so-called artificial meat refers to vegetable protein meat and clean meat, and some are also called vegetarian meat and test-tube meat.

　　Among the top ten breakthrough technologies in the world in 2019 published by MIT Technology Review, the artificial meat burger was selected together with the new wave of nuclear energy and customized cancer vaccine.

　　"This confirms the technical breakthrough of replacing meat with plant raw materials." Xue Yan, secretary-general of China Botanical Food Industry Alliance, said that with the concern for the environment and the pursuit of their own health, people hope to replace animals with plant raw materials, which can not only meet the taste demand, but also reduce the impact of food industry on the natural ecological environment and reduce energy consumption.

　　Li Jian, an associate professor at the College of Food Science, Beijing Technology and Business University, believes that the rise of artificial meat is behind the changes in human eating and consumption patterns, and it is also a sign of the rise of the alternative food market. Consumers’ understanding and acceptance of artificial meat and the rationality of food prices will be the key to whether this technology can have a future market.

　　"Objectively speaking, at this stage, synthetic foods such as artificial meat mainly solve not food problems, but more cultural problems and social health needs." David Parry, CEO and director of American Indigo Agriculture, said.

　　What does artificial meat taste like now?

　　It is still difficult to simulate the taste of real meat.

　　The reporter searched artificial meat in China HowNet and found many academic articles. Among them, the article "Commercialization Technology of Artificial Meat Mass Production" points out that the market acceptance of related products is still very low, and the fundamental reason is that artificial meat products can not realistically simulate the quality of real meat at this stage. In order to produce artificial meat products that meet the needs of the public, it is necessary to carry out a series of commercial processing and reshaping treatment of artificial meat products. For the color problem of meat, the biosynthesis of heme and hemoglobin from different sources is being studied at home and abroad, but it has not yet reached the conditions for mass production.

　　Many researchers believe that it is difficult to simulate the taste of real meat at present. "We can make beef patties with vegetable protein, but it is difficult to make steaks, braised pork and braised ribs. How to simulate the taste of real meat is one of the key points of current scientific research. " Kai Zhong, deputy director of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, said.

　　Zhang Bo believes that "the nutritional components of plant protein and animal protein are different, and how to extract nutrients to ensure the nutritional components of artificial meat is also the focus of current research and development."

　　Is there any artificial meat in the market?

　　Immature products are more like commercial gimmicks

　　In the future, will artificial meat really go to the people’s table and become a substitute for meat?

　　Optimistic people in the industry believe that in the long run, consumers pay more attention to eating healthier after solving the problem of eating enough. Artificial meat contains higher protein and lower fat, which is a good source food in protein. With people’s attention to nutrition and health, vegetarian vegetable meat has a certain market base and consumer groups.

　　However, most experts say that it is still difficult to replace meat with artificial meat on a large scale.

　　The reporter found that at present, artificial meat is more like a commercial gimmick. Rui Liu, an associate researcher at the Institute of Food and Nutrition Development of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that to develop plant meat with similar senses to real meat products, the production technology requires higher requirements. For clean meat cultured with animal cells or tissues, it simulates the physiological environment in vivo, and makes isolated cells or tissues survive, grow and maintain their structure under aseptic, moderate and rich nutritional conditions. At present, there are no mature products on the market, and it is unknown whether consumers can accept them or not, and the market prospect is also unknown.

　　In addition, the high cost is an important reason that restricts the commercialization of artificial meat. "Although the current cost has been greatly reduced compared with a few years ago, it is still much higher than traditional meat." Xue Yan said.

　　Li Jian said that the future development of plant meat is still promising, but plant protein has some fishy smell, which seriously affects the quality of plant meat and needs to be overcome.

　　The development of artificial meat in the future is still inseparable from the adjustment and change of the diet structure and eating habits of the founding people.

　　Diner reaction

　　Eel, kebab, Wuxi chop, sweet and sour fillet … … In some elegant vegetarian restaurants in Beijing, the vegetable meat made of vegetable protein and mushrooms can be cooked, not only the appearance can be confused, but also the taste is very similar.

　　Mr. He, a Beijing resident who frequents vegetarian restaurants, said that vegetarian dishes feel healthier and have been addicted to eating meat.

　　Market supply

　　Outside the venue of the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA, the beef burger on the fast food truck is not an ordinary beef burger. The beef smell people smell actually comes from artificial meat. The new beef burger released by American Impossible Foods Company is completely free of cholesterol, animal hormones and antibiotics. Compared with the traditional beef burger, it has lower calories and belongs to plant meat.