The world's first lab-grown burger is to be unveiled and eaten at a news conference in London on Monday, Aug 5, BBC News reports.
Scientists took cells from a cow and, at an institute in the Netherlands, turned them into strips of muscle which they combined to make a patty. Researchers say the technology could be a sustainable way of meeting what they say is a growing demand for meat.
Critics say that eating less meat would be an easier way to tackle predicted food shortages.
The meat was grown in a project costing £215,000.
Most institutes working in this area are trying to grow human tissue for transplantation, to replace worn out or diseased muscle, nerve cells or cartilage.
Prof Mark Post of Maastricht University, the scientist behind the burger, wants to use similar techniques to grow muscle and fat for food.
The burger to be revealed on Monday will be colored red with beetroot juice. The researchers have also added breadcrumbs, caramel and saffron, which will add to the taste.
At the moment, scientists can only make small pieces of meat; larger ones would require artificial circulatory systems to distribute nutrients and oxygen.
Prof Post said initial sampling suggests the burger will not taste great, but he expected it to be "good enough".
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