Dutch scientist Mark Post displays samples of in-vitro meat, or cultured meat grown in a laboratory, at the University of Maastricht November 9, 2011.
Dutch scientist Mark Post displays samples of in-vitro meat, or cultured meat grown in a laboratory, at the University of Maastricht November 9, 2011. REUTERS

With the constant craving for meat, scientists are finding new ways of cooking to satisfy the masses.

In a unique concept of laboratory-served dishes, also known as "cultured meat" or in-vitro meat in laboratory Petri dishes, in comparison to the slaughtered livestock, scientists argue the "new-age" technique could feed the people and also save the environment and lives of millions of animals, Reuters has reported.

According to Mark Post, a vascular biologist at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, the cost to produce the first lab-grown hamburger will be around 250,000 euros ($345,000).

"The first one will be a proof of concept, just to show it's possible," Post told Reuters in a telephone interview from his Maastricht lab. "I believe I can do this in the coming year," he said.

Post said he "grows" his meat using stem cells, harvested from leftover animal material from slaughterhouses, and nurtures them with a feed concocted of sugars, amino acids, lipids, minerals and other nutrients, the report said.

"This first one will be grown in an academic lab, by highly trained academic staff," he said. "It's hand-made and it's time and labour-intensive, that's why it's so expensive to produce," Reuters reported.

The "cultured meat" or the in-vitro meat is an actual real animal flesh product. But the underlying difference remains that this meat was never part of a complete, living animal and differs from the other types of meat like imitation meat or meat substitutes available in the market.