宇宙で人工肉の培養に成功、店頭に並ぶのも近い？

【ニューヨークＡＦＰ＝時事】細胞から食肉を生成する──それは、もはやSFの世界の話ではない。ロシアの宇宙飛行士が、国際宇宙ステーション（ISS）で人工肉の培養に成功したのだ。スーパーマーケットに並ぶのも時間の問題だろう。（写真は資料写真）
　９月に行われた実験では、３Ｄプリンターを用いて牛やウサギ、魚の細胞培養肉を生成した。
　実験に細胞を提供したイスラエルのスタートアップ企業、アレフ・ファームズのディディエ・トゥビア最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）は、この新技術によって例えば火星などへの「長期に及ぶ旅が可能になり、宇宙探査が刷新される」とＡＦＰに語った。
　だが、トゥビア氏によると「わが社が目指すのは、地球上で肉を売ることだ」。この発想は、「従来の農業にとって代わるのではなく、工場式畜産のより良い代替手段になるということ」だという。
　オランダ・マーストリヒト大学のマルク・ポスト氏が、牛の幹細胞から培養した世界初の人工肉ハンバーガーを公開したのは２０１３年。その後、複数のスタートアップ企業がこのニッチ市場に参入してきた。
　しかし、いまだ生産コストが非常に高く、製品には向かないものばかりだ。研究室で培養された肉がスーパーの棚に手頃な値段で並ぶようになるまでには、短くても５年、長ければ２０年かかるとみられている。
　開発へのさらなる投資が必要だとの指摘もある。培養肉分野への２０１８年の投資額は、動物性食品の代替製品を推進する非営利団体「グッド・フード・インスティテュート」によれば、総額７３００万ドル（約７９億円）にすぎなかった。
　規制が依然としてあいまいなことも、障害の一つだ。推進派にとって肉や魚の細胞培養製品は、動物を育てては殺すサイクルを避けることで持続的な食肉生産を可能にする画期的な方法だ。ただ、実際の環境への影響、特にエネルギー消費についてや、安全性の問題をめぐっては、まだ疑問の余地がある。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/10/15-09:38）

Creating meat from cells is no longer the realm of science fiction: a Russian cosmonaut did it aboard the International Space Station, and it is just a matter of time before these products arrive in supermarkets.
Tests carried out in space in September led to the production of beef, rabbit and fish tissue using a 3D printer.
This new technology could make long-term travel possible and renew space exploration, to Mars for example, said Didier Toubia, the head of the Israeli startup Aleph Farms, which provided cells for the tests.
But our goal is to sell meat on Earth, he told AFP.
The idea is not to replace traditional agriculture, he said. It's about being a better alternative to factory farming.
- What's in a name? -
The first burger designed with cow stem cells was made by Mark Post, a Dutch scientist from Maastricht University, and presented in 2013. Several startups have since taken to the niche market.
The cost of production is still very high, and none of the products are available for sale.
The name for the meat products is still up for debate: laboratory, artificial, cell-based, cultivated.
But tastings have already taken place, and industry players are banking on small-scale commercialization taking place fairly quickly.
It is likely to be this year, Josh Tetrick, the head of California's JUST company, which is growing meat from cells, said at a conference in San Francisco.
Not on the market in four thousand Walmarts or in all McDonald's, but in a handful of restaurants, Tetrick said.
The question is what do you want to put out at what cost, said Niya Gupta, founder and CEO of Fork & Goode, which is growing meat from cells in New York.
As an industry, we are finally making progress on the science. The next step is really making progress on the engineering challenges.
The arrival of laboratory-grown meat on supermarket shelves at reasonable prices could happen in five to 20 years, according to estimates.
But it would need more investment, according to several observers. The sector attracted a total of only $73 million in 2018, according to The Good Food Institute, an organization promoting alternatives to meat and fish.
Another obstacle is regulation, which remains imprecise.
In the United States, for example, the government outlined a regulatory framework that shared oversight of cell-based foods between the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, but it is not yet finalized.
- Labeling -
For supporters, cell-based meat and fish products can transform the production system sustainably by avoiding the raising and killing of animals.
However, questions remain about the real environmental impact, particularly in terms of energy consumption, as well as about safety.
But the market opportunity is enormous, especially for seafood, said Lou Cooperhouse, the CEO of startup BlueNalu.
Global demand in the world is at an all-time high, he said of seafood, but we have a supply problem with overfishing, climate change and a very variable supply, coupled with an issue with the supply itself with, for example, the presence of mercury in some fish.
What if we could add a third leg on the supply chain, wild caught, farm raised, cell-based?
Created in 2018, BlueNalu is developing a technological platform that can be used to design various seafood products, mainly fish filets without bones or skin.
Scientific literature on stem cells, biological engineering or organic tissue printing already existed, said BlueNalu's chief technology officer Chris Dammann.
We need to put the technology back together and optimize it, Dammann said.
The rise of cell-based proteins is not a major source of concern for traditional agriculture.
It is something we need to monitor, said Scott Bennett, the director of congressional relations for the Farm Bureau organization, which represents farmers and ranchers.
Bennett said he feels our energy would be much better spent in focusing (on) increasing the overall market shares for proteins, especially in developing countries.
Some people for social reasons will want to buy this product. But there will always remain a market for conventional meat, he said.
We feel as it should not be called meat, because we don't want to confuse the consumer as to what this really is. We want to make sure the labelling is very clear, Bennett added.