Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Would You Eat This 3D-Printed Steak?

By

First, there was Dolly, the cloned sheep. Now, we have 3D-printed steaks.

As the Washington Post reports, the breakthrough happened earlier this week by way of an Israeli company, Aleph Farms. It was assembled using a live culture made up of animal cells. And it’s a new enough experimental process that it has yet to be certified any major governing body and therefor is not formally recommended for eating, at least in this country.

Recommended Videos

Related Reading

The questions begs: Would you eat it? The steak itself isn’t the most flattering cut of meat but the movement is interesting and will only gain momentum. We already know about the significant toll the industrial food system takes on natural resources and the environment, as well as the fate of the animals involved. Plant-based meats have already slid in and offered a tasty alternative that’s easier on the planet and more humane. Alt-meats produced by 3D printers are poised to be next, with some countries hoping to have products on the market by next year.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

There will almost certainly be growing pains. All you have to do is look at genetically modified organisms (so-called Frankenfood) to see how we tend to cringe at lab-created foods. But the plusses of this new frontier could be many, including a longer shelf-life for the meats as well as more consistent quality. Researchers are able to dial-in the recipe so to speak by adjusting collagen and tissue levels. It sounds a little gross on the surface, but it could end up being a sure-fire way to produce the perfect T-Bone or porterhouse, over and over again.

Related

The printed protein is far from the oddest thing created by a 3D printer over the last several years. The technology has produced everything from bikinis to replica engagement rings. Even 3D-printed weapons had a moment not too long ago. It’s conceivable that one could print up a good fork and steak knife to go with their meat if so inclined.

What’s next? Other companies are already hard at work on bio-printing seafood, a resource subject to depletion and its own environmental and ethical concerns. Regulatory bodies like the FDA tend to work slowly, but they will test and review this new category of meats and likely give them the green light over the next year or two. Look out for start-ups flexing alt-pork, alt-chicken, and more. As the technology improves, the cuts of meat will no doubt look and taste and better, perhaps reaching a point where you simply could not differentiate them from the real thing in a blind taste test.

For now, the above steak looks chewy and a bit gristly at best. This writer would probably only eat it with a healthy helping of steak sauce and a large glass of wine to wash it down. I’m not against the process by any means, just the appearance of that thing on the cutting board. We’ll have to wait and see what comes down the printer pipeline in the not-too-distant future.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock
Contributor
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
The hottest contraband from Mexico right now may surprise you
Cracking the case: Why eggs are the new darling of the black market
White eggs in an egg carton

In a frustrating, yet somehow wholesome turn of events, eggs have been added as the newest addition to the long list of illicit items being smuggled over the Mexican/U.S. border.
Between November 1 and January 17, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents reported over 2,000 instances of attempted egg smuggling over the border, according to the New York Times. In the same 11-week period the year before, only 460 similar instances were reported.
The surge in this unusual crime is undoubtedly due to the increasing cost of eggs in the states. The guilty party? The avian flu, still wreaking fresh havoc on all birdkind as the days tick by without any real solution. From turkey shortages this past Thanksgiving to what's now apparently turning into eggs being sold shadily in little plastic baggies, the effects of this gnarly virus are extraordinary.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, avian influenza has affected more than 58 million birds in both commercial and backyard flocks. By the end of last year, the illness had killed more than 43 million egg-laying hens. Due to the egg shortage this continues to create, obviously, their cost has skyrocketed.
In Mexico, however, the price of a kilogram of eggs - which equates to more than a dozen jumbo eggs in American terms - is currently running between 31 and 50 pesos, or $1.59 to $2.79 in U.S. dollars. Compare that to our average of $7.37 per dozen in California, and a new career in the underground egg game starts to look interesting.
While it has been illegal to bring eggs and uncooked poultry into the U.S. from Mexico since 2012, most instances until now were simply cases of ignorance and a few discarded eggs as a consequence. Now, though, the powers that be are cracking down.
On January 17, San Diego Director of Field Operations, Sidney Aki, tweeted, "The San Diego Field Office has recently noticed an increase in the number of eggs intercepted at our ports of entry. As a reminder, uncooked eggs are prohibited entry from Mexico into the U.S. Failure to declare agriculture items can result in penalties of up to $10,000." For ten thousand bucks, you can buy at least a couple of weeks' worth of eggs, so maybe it's best not to risk it.
Either way, no matter how you get your eggs home this week, we recommend storing them in the refrigerator...removed of all duct tape and white, powdery residue.

Read more
You can now design your own splitboard, courtesy of… Twix?
Twix has paired up with Olympian Maddie Mastro to create a split board; all it needs is your design!
The limited edition Twix Doughboard on a white background

The humble Twix. This confectionery world's mainstay has long divided us between those who prefer the left and those who prefer the right — I'm talking Twixes here, not politics. But their new product, the Twix Cookie Dough, is all about bringing them together, lovers of left and lovers of right. And what represents the conjoining of left and right better than the sport of splitboarding?

Sure, on the uphill, you've got a left and a right section, but the ride's true beauty starts when you bring the two together. Splitboarding is one of winter's biggest sports, taking the thrill of snowboarding into the backcountry with deep powder, steep lines, and the potential for true adventure. Twix has paired up with Olympian Maddie Mastro to design a two-part splitboard. Maddie has designed one half, but the other half, well, that's up to you.

Read more
Foods High in Iodine to Eat if You’re Cutting Down On Salt
Here Are High-iodine Foods That Can Help Counter Hypothyroidism
Bowl of foods high in iodine like seaweed and fish

When it comes to micronutrients, certain vitamins and minerals tend to dominate the conversation. We often hear about the importance of vitamin C, vitamin D, and B vitamins and minerals, such as iron, calcium, and potassium, but there are many other minerals vital to our health as well, one of which is iodine.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits of iodine and the foods high in iodine that you might want to incorporate into your diet (after discussing them with your doctor first, of course) to help support your thyroid health.

What Is Iodine?
Iodine is a trace mineral that’s an essential micronutrient, which means it must be consumed in the diet because the body cannot manufacture it. Iodine is critical for the health, proper functioning, and hormone production of your thyroid, one of the key endocrine glands that largely governs your metabolism.
For example, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, iodine is an essential component of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which, in turn, regulate vital biochemical reactions such as protein synthesis, enzymatic function, and metabolic activity. Iodine also is required for the production and function of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which is necessary for protecting the body from hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
For this reason, iodine deficiencies can lead to hypothyroidism, a condition marked by an underactive thyroid gland, which can manifest as an enlarged thyroid, known as a goiter.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, people with hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, often need to limit their iodine intake. If that's true for you, then consider this a list of foods you might want to limit or eliminate entirely from your diet — though again, be sure to talk to your doctor before making any big dietary changes.

Read more