Those who feel guilty about eating meat due to the cruelty to animals which has become part of the food industry are looking forward to the time when ‘mock meat’ or ‘plant meat’ hits the market. It will taste and smell like meat but will be made from plant ingredients.
At a global level, there are companies like Mosa Meat and Memphis Meats which have initiated pioneering research in this area. They are also exploring ‘tomato tuna’, a cheaper, healthier alternative to the real fish.
In India, the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai and The Good Food Institute (GFI) India have set up a partnership to set up the world’s first government research centre for the development of clean meat substitutes. ICT is funded by the Maharashtra government.
“With the help of the Mumbai centre, we could see more cell-based meat companies in India too, poised to grab a share of the $4.6 billion global meat substitutes market,” said a GFI spokesperson.
PETA India, which advocates that people should go vegan, has welcomed the initiative. “Lab-grown meat is a promising futuristic idea with the potential of saving billions of animals from being slaughtered,” said Dipti Kapoor, science policy advisor, PETA India.
