Global Rice News

SEOUL, South Korea: South Korean scientists have developed an innovative method to produce protein by injecting cultured beef cells into grains of rice. Led by Professor Hong Jin-kee of Seoul’s Yonsei University, this groundbreaking technique has the potential to revolutionize global eating habits and address issues like food scarcity and nutrition for astronauts.

The creation, known as “meaty rice,” looks similar to regular rice but with a pink hue and a slight buttery aroma due to the inclusion of beef muscle and fat cell cultures. This new food product aims to provide an eco-friendly and ethical protein source without harming animals. Professor Hong stated, “We can obtain animal protein without the slaughter of livestock.”

This project tackles ethical and environmental concerns associated with traditional livestock farming. The livestock industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, prompting a search for sustainable meat alternatives. Given rice’s status as a primary protein source in Asia, Professor Hong, with his background in organoids and biomedical sciences, chose it as the medium for his research.

The process involves coating a rice grain with fish gelatin, injecting it with beef cells, and culturing it in a petri dish for up to 11 days. The rice’s porous structure provides an ideal environment for uniform cell growth. The resulting “meaty rice” contains eight percent more protein and seven percent more fat than regular rice.

While scaling up this process remains a challenge, Professor Hong is optimistic about its potential applications. He aims to gain approval to use “meaty rice” as emergency relief food in two African countries, where even a small increase in protein content can be crucial for those with limited access to food.

Currently, South Korea has not approved any cultivated meat for consumption. However, the government has invested millions in a “foodtech” fund and identified cell-cultured meat as a research priority. Although Singapore and the United States have made cultivated meat available, regulatory hurdles exist in other countries. Italy, for example, banned it to protect its livestock industry.

Critics have expressed concerns about the safety of cultured meat, particularly regarding the sourcing of animal cells and the use of serum, antibiotics, and hormones in the culturing process. Despite these concerns, Professor Hong’s method significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with protein production. His team estimates that producing 100 grams of protein releases 6.27 kilograms of carbon dioxide, eight times less than traditional beef production.

Cultured meat is often seen as a climate-friendly solution compared to conventional livestock. However, for it to be successful, it must be scalable, affordable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly. Neil Stephens, a technology and society lecturer at the University of Birmingham, suggests that “meaty rice” might have an advantage due to its hybrid nature, combining animal cells with plant material, potentially making it less energy-intensive and cheaper.

Global consultancy AT Kearney predicts that by 2040, only 40 percent of global meat consumption will come from conventional sources, with biotechnology playing a significant role. Professor Hong envisions a future where biotechnology tailors food to individual health needs, potentially involving AI and robotic kitchens that prepare meals based on a person’s health metrics.

Professor Hong’s “meaty rice” represents a step towards this future, offering a sustainable, ethical, and health-conscious alternative to traditional protein sources.

Source: [Wenewsenglish](https://wenewsenglish.pk)