Researchers in Gothenburg, Sweden, met this week to launch a new “meat without slaughter” initiative – with plans on being able to release bio-sausages in the next six months. Bio-sausages made from exotic animal cells, too, because vat-grown tiger meat isn’t any less ethical than vat-grown bacon.

Mark Post, of Maastrich University in the Netherlands, is a pioneer in vitro meat technology; he’s the one who figures he can get this stuff out in half a year. Post recently developed a method to grow muscle under lab conditions – by feeding pig stem cells with horse fetal serum. He then exercises the muscles with little Velcro strips, which sounds a little gross, but hey.

His colleague, Stellan Wellin – a bioethicist at Linköping University in Sweden – is the one who’s proposing we start trying out exotic meats too. Wellin points  out that our meat choices are largely governed by which animals are easier to domesticate, not necessarily the most delicious ones. Which means, if this whole deal works out, we’ll be able to eat pandas at last.

[Source: New Scientist]