Last Tuesday the 28th, in the capital of Holland, the meat of a Mammoth dead for millennia. The meatball was made from laboratory meat from a woolly mammoth, a species thought to be extinct. The production creates a mix between eating the past and reflecting the food in the future.
The aim of the preparation was to raise awareness
In Amsterdam, the meatloaf made by Vow Kulturfleisch was exhibited at the NEMO Science Museum in a kind of aquarium for all participants to see.
Although it’s something readymade, experts say it’s not fit for consumption.
You must test that the product is within food safety parameters since the meat itself is thousands of years old. Only after the food tests can the researchers be sure about the consumption quality.
Mammoth meat meets with criticism
The process required weeks of cultivation before it became a lump of flesh. The meatball was made by scientist who succeeded in joining the myoglobin DNA of a mammoth and the genes of the African elephant.
According to the researchers, the currently existing animal is the closest living relative of the woolly mammoth.
In an interview with AFP, Vow (meat producer) cofounder Tim Noakesmith says choosing a woolly mammoth to make the meatball is part of a symbolism of loss caused by past climate changes.
For Tim, this would be the same fate as humans if eating habits don’t change, exemplified when he talks about largescale farming and the way people eat.
One of the biggest prospects for the future is the highdemand production of meat from plants or meat grown in laboratories.
Livestock emit 14.5% of the greenhouse gases that humans can cause. That percentage could rise to 70% by 2050, which is why this 4,000+ year production is currently active.
For Tim, the best bet might be to offer “something better” to get people to stop eating meat.
Until proper food safety testing is done, the researchers say they’re terrified of finding out what mammoth meat tastes like.