Test tube meat

In I’ll-eat-anything-just-don’t-make-me-become-a-vegetarian news, researchers say growing meat in a lab would use far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventionally grown meat. Scientists from Oxford University and Amsterdam University found that lab-grown tissue could reduce greenhouse gases by up to 96 percent compared to raising livestock. They say it could also help feed a population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, found that this “cultured” meat would use 7 to 45 percent less energy and only 1 percent of the land and 4 percent of the water needed to produce the same amount of meat from a livestock operation.

“Cultured meat could potentially be produced with up to 96 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions, 45 percent less energy, 99 percent lower land use, and 96 percent lower water use than conventional meat,” lead researcher Hanna Tuomisto said in a prepared statement.

How the meat tastes was not discussed.

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is funding research into this technology. This study, however, was funded by New Harvest, a nonprofit seeking alternatives to conventionally produced meat.