The Taste of Tomorrow by Josh Schonwald

Author:Josh Schonwald
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-03-27T20:00:00+00:00

Utrecht—Unlocking the Pig Code

Utrecht, a picturesque Dutch town of a half million people, crisscrossed by canals and carpeted with tulips, is home to the Netherlands’ largest university, one of Europe’s grand cathedrals, and the largest in vitro meat-growing project in the world.

Curious to get a sense of whether this was a source of civic pride, intrigue, or horror, I asked the first Utrechter I met, my cabdriver, if he knew about the in vitro meat project. No. Henk Haagsman? No. When I arrived at the Utrecht University campus—the home of the meat-growing lab—a very un-Gallup-like poll (three girls standing in front of the cafeteria) all yielded looks of unrecognition.

The in vitro meat lab is in a three-story brick building, not far from Utrecht University’s towering medical center in the veterinary sciences wing of the campus. There are labs devoted to bovine and porcine studies and to pet health. The ground floor of the building had a sign with instructions for visiting dog and cat owners. But on a Wednesday afternoon, there was no barking, no talking; it was completely empty.

I met Haagsman and Bernard Roelen, the chief microbiologist of the project, in a quiet office on the building’s second floor. In his photo, Haagsman had a bowl haircut, chubby face, and angular eyebrows and seemed brilliantly cast for the role of “test-tube meat inventor.” In person, the professor of meat sciences looked quite mainstream—a sport jacket, a modern haircut. Roelen, the junior colleague, was in his thirties, thin, blond, wearing a polo shirt.

Haagsman had just come from a meat sciences departmental meeting when I arrived. As I waited for him to get settled, I surveyed the surroundings. Some molecular biology texts, a book about “birds of the Netherlands,” an Iron Maiden coffee mug. The nearby lab had the ordinary mix of electron microscopes, lab-coated techs, and petri dishes with colored agar. No visible signs of any bread-making-like appliances churning out in vitro pork.

I soon learned that the closest thing to an in vitro meat maker—the bioreactor—was not in Utrecht yet; it was still being developed in Eindhoven. Worse, I learned—little more than eleven minutes into the interview—some crushing news. In short, PETA is unlikely to have to give up $1 million for a “commercial lab-grown meat product that has a taste indistinguishable from chicken-meat flesh.”

I learned this after explaining why I had come five thousand miles for a week of in vitro meat lab tours. I told them that much had been written about test-tube meat in the American media—much hope centered on Utrecht. I fessed up—admitting to being personally greatly excited about the project—especially after talking with Matheny. And then I asked the almighty question.

Matheny had predicted “within five years” and Haagsman had predicted, in 2005, “a commercial product would be ready in ten years.”

How close are we?

Haagsman stuck out his hand as if to say “no more.”

“We were a bit overly optimistic,” he said.

The next two hours were spent learning the molecular biology of why the Vegan Rapture wasn’t imminent.

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