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Biotech Science

First Lab-Grown Eel Meat Revealed (theguardian.com) 110

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The first lab-grown freshwater eel meat has been produced, potentially solving a diner's dilemma. Rampant overfishing has caused eel populations to plummet and prices to soar, but the cultivated eel could provide the delicacy guilt-free. The eel meat was produced by Forsea Foods in Israel from embryonic cells of a freshwater eel. The company collaborated with a Japanese chef to create unagi kabayaki, marinated grilled eel over rice, and unagi nigiri, a type of sushi.

The company aims to scale up its operation and have the cultivated eel on sale in about two years. Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, last year backed the development of a cultivated meat industry. The restaurant price in Japan is about $250 a kilogram, and Forsea Foods expects the price of the cultivated eel to match that of the wild-caught eel. [...] Forsea Foods' strategy is to target species at risk of extinction in the wild that also command high prices in restaurants and shops, with eel meeting both criteria. The very complex life cycle of eels, involving long migrations from rivers to the ocean and several distinct life stages, means it is not possible to farm them like some fish.

The cultivated eel was produced using organoids, tiny bundles of tissue originally developed for use in medical research. The organoids are made of embryonic stem cells taken from fertilized eel eggs. These cells can develop into any kind of tissue and, as they grow, they self-organize into the structure of real meat. The final product also contains some plant-based ingredients. Other approaches to cultivated meat require greater use of expensive growth factor chemicals and scaffolds for cells to grow on [...]. The technique is particularly suited to fish and seafood, whose meat is fairly uniform unlike, for example, marbled beef, he said. Like other cultivated meat, the product is not produced using antibiotics or hormones. Forsea Foods is the only company known to be producing cultivated meat using this technology. The company has raised $5.2 million in investment, with more expected to be announced soon.

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First Lab-Grown Eel Meat Revealed

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  • by Waffle Iron ( 339739 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @10:40PM (#64202692)

    I well never eat lab-grown meat of any kind because it will all probably taste like an eel!

    Oh, wait...

    • Re:No Way (Score:5, Funny)

      by burtosis ( 1124179 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @11:11PM (#64202730)

      I well never eat lab-grown meat of any kind because it will all probably taste like an eel!

      Oh, wait...

      Sounds like a slippery slope to me.

    • Re:No Way (Score:5, Funny)

      by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2024 @12:52AM (#64202842)

      I well never eat lab-grown meat of any kind because it will all probably taste like an eel!

      Or, as per Better Off Ted [wikipedia.org] (S1E2) Heroes [fandom.com]: Tasting meat made in the lab [youtube.com] ...

      Jerome: It tastes familiar.
      Ted: Beef?
      Jerome: No.
      Linda: Chicken? We'll take chicken.
      Ted: What does it taste like?
      Jerome: Despair.
      Ted: Is it possible it just needs salt?

    • And there was everyone naively predicting that we'd be eating bugs instead of meat. At $250 per Kg though, I'm perfectly happy sticking to plant proteins.
      • Me - I'll wait this one out. I don't trust this technology..maybe I will down the road but not now.
        After decades of trying to figure out how to improve my nutritional intake the only thing I have concluded for sure is keep it natural and keep it simple. Remember, there are those that will tell you all those chemical preservatives are just fine. But, enjoy and let us know how it turns out.

  • by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @10:55PM (#64202708)

    Can't beat the lower environmental impact, the reduction in need to protect against contamination by disease or illness, the fact it can be done in cities instead of requiring vast tracts of land, etc. Then add in some bonus genetic modification to make it healthier for you.

    Animal welfare issues are a distant concern compared to the economic ones, but those are resolved too.

    • It's not just the future, it's already here. They call it "hot dogs." I mean, what else could explain the taste and texture of those "tube steaks"?

    • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

      by Powercntrl ( 458442 )

      You can't even buy generic cola that tastes exactly like Coke, and that's entirely man-made to begin with. While there certainly is room in the marketplace for lab grown meat, it will never taste exactly like the real thing. Besides, even among the real stuff there's significant variation in quality; I'm not even sure how this stuff [walmart.com] passes as suitable for human consumption, and that's ostensibly from the same animal as filet mignon.

      • I think if most people tried really good ve*an food they wouldn't miss meat at all.
        • If people had infinite time thatâ(TM)s be true, but as it stands people eat mediocre meat based food because it takes really good vegan food that takes much more time and effort to compare to it.

      • Nobody is going to be replicating the exact flavor of Coca-Cola until other companies are also permitted to import the Coca plant to flavor it. They may not get to keep the cocaine from their import (that goes to a pharmaceutical company), but it's still that exotic ingredient that's literally impossible for anyone else to obtain. It would be just as difficult to replicate the flavor of a cow's meat, if a ranch's industry secret was raising it on cocaine, even if you had the same breed and similar condition

      • by gtall ( 79522 )

        "even among the real stuff there's significant variation in quality" I see, so even the real stuff doesn't taste like the real stuff. Will the real stuff please stand up and say "here"? Maybe being the real stuff is a quantum property, it is there but only if you do not taste it.

        • by unrtst ( 777550 )

          Good ol' No True Scottsman argument.
          This cultivated eel is made from stem cells taken from a fertilized eel egg. It's eel meat. This isn't some ultra processed plant based meat like the Impossible Burgers (not knocking them though... those do taste pretty great IMO). I don't see why meat eaters would get up in arms about eating meat that was grown specifically to be meat; That's the direction cows have been going for ages anyway. If they were REALLY into eating only REAL animals, then they'd stick to wild g

          • Good ol' No True Scottsman argument. This cultivated eel is made from stem cells taken from a fertilized eel egg. It's eel meat. This isn't some ultra processed plant based meat like the Impossible Burgers (not knocking them though... those do taste pretty great IMO). I don't see why meat eaters would get up in arms about eating meat that was grown specifically to be meat; That's the direction cows have been going for ages anyway. If they were REALLY into eating only REAL animals, then they'd stick to wild game, no?

            This. A veggie burger is not some sort of sin against humanity, and it's difficult to see lab grown meat as a sin either.

            Mebbe I'm a troll, but on a social media site I posted a picture and description of a meal I like - A veggie burger topped with my home made bacon. That got a lot of reponses! Veggie burgers can be darned good, although a few varieties are way over-spiced.

            • Mebbe I'm a troll, but on a social media site I posted a picture and description of a meal I like - A veggie burger topped with my home made bacon. That got a lot of reponses!

              Once again, this proves that BACON is the world's most perfect food!!

              It is the only food you wrap around other food to make it taste better!!!

              ;)

              • [Bacon] is the only food you wrap around other food to make it taste better!!!

                Bread would like to have a word... pita... buns... sandwiches in general... stuffed vegetables... etc.

                • [Bacon] is the only food you wrap around other food to make it taste better!!!

                  Bread would like to have a word... pita... buns... sandwiches in general... stuffed vegetables... etc.

                  Nope..bread is just something to HOLD food together....NOT a flavor enhancer.

                  Bread, for the most part is bland and flavorless.

                  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
                    • Well bad bread is bland and tasteless. Like you there are many people who have never had good bread and so mistake the limits of their experience for the larger picture.

                      I dunno..I live in New Orleans...with quality French bread, etc.

                      Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good stuff poboy...but to me bread is a lot like a baked potato.

                      To me a potato is pretty much flavorless...just a 'binder' for sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and cheese. I always have mine in a bowl and by the time I'm finished with it...looks

                    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
                • [Bacon] is the only food you wrap around other food to make it taste better!!!

                  Bread would like to have a word... pita... buns... sandwiches in general... stuffed vegetables... etc.

                  Bread has the advantages of so many different ingredient possibilities. Some rye or oatmeal bread, toasted with peanut butter - there's a sammich that vegans vegetarians and omnivores alike can like.

                  If you're daring and eat meat, some crisp bacon on that with the Peanut butter is hella good.

              • Mebbe I'm a troll, but on a social media site I posted a picture and description of a meal I like - A veggie burger topped with my home made bacon. That got a lot of reponses!

                Once again, this proves that BACON is the world's most perfect food!!

                It is the only food you wrap around other food to make it taste better!!!

                ;)

                Salty, smokey, a bit crunchy, caramalization of the fat. Damn, I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow.

      • Yet, some people prefer Pepsi. So it shall be with lab meat. Not exactly the same but not entirely different.
      • You can't even buy generic cola that tastes exactly like Coke, and that's entirely man-made to begin with. While there certainly is room in the marketplace for lab grown meat, it will never taste exactly like the real thing. Besides, even among the real stuff there's significant variation in quality; I'm not even sure how this stuff [walmart.com] passes as suitable for human consumption, and that's ostensibly from the same animal as filet mignon.

        Walmart is known to add a saline solution to ground beef to preserve the color (make it look fresher longer). If an animal died to give you food, the least you could do is treat the meat with respect.

    • Can't beat the lower environmental impact, .

      Is it though? https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/n... [ucdavis.edu]

      Sounds to me like maybe it could be some day, but probably isn't right now.

  • by Jack Schitt ( 649756 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @11:25PM (#64202748)

    I wasn't aware that when I go to my local sushi joint and order a Caterpillar roll, that I was contributing to the possible extinction of a species. I had always figured that eel is farm-raised and was a safe choice.

    I've actively tried to get my friends to try it just because the name is ick, but eel is actually really good.

    I can't wait until the lab-grown variety is widely available.

    • Re:Eel is delicious (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sodul ( 833177 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @11:32PM (#64202754) Homepage

      I'm not sure about other places but I remember reading that eels in Japan are farm raised but from wild caught babies since they do not reproduce in captivity. While this ensure that more of these babies can reach adulthood and a large supply of unagi, it probably does not help with maintaining the overall population in the wild.

      I do love unagi, and if they can make it taste the same with the same texture ... I'll be happy to try it.

  • by brianjdev ( 7157877 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @11:43PM (#64202776)
    Those are the shrieking eels!
  • Count me in (Score:5, Insightful)

    by resfilter ( 960880 ) on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @11:57PM (#64202794)

    I am not a vegetarian

    I am god damn red blooded red necked murderous carnivore

    But I have passionate love and connection with all animals. I look into their eyes and feel what they feel

    I eat dead animals and fish and other organisms and feel intense pleasure when i get a delicious one, from game steaks to fine steak tartare to sushi

    I feel a guilt but my carnivore nature prevails because hunger and delicious

    If you feed me eel or cow or pig and it came from a lab and it gives my taste buds that feeling, for a similar price, you have my loyalty and my money, and I will never eat a real animal

    Same goes for beef, pork, chicken, deer, salmon, tuna, etc.

    Make it happen and solve my carnivore conflicts

    • by penguinoid ( 724646 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2024 @04:58AM (#64203040) Homepage Journal

      It won't be the same, for example lab-grown tuna wouldn't have the mercury.

    • I am not a vegetarian

      I am god damn red blooded red necked murderous carnivore

      But I have passionate love and connection with all animals. I look into their eyes and feel what they feel

      Yes. It is a fact of life that none of us survives unless we kill something. No exceptions other than some of the chemotropic animals like the life around sea vents. Even there there are carnivores however.

      All life is precious. Plant or animal, from single cells to trees to humans. The most "ethical" vegan kills life every day. They just decide that vegetable life is good to kill. They decide that vegetable life is not precious enough.

      But we are alive, and in order to maintain our life, we kill to eat to

      • All life is precious

        Actually, that remark is precious. Because the value of life to itself and to others is a factor that modifies that statement enormously. Trying to put every form of life on an equal footing is outright absurd.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • All life is precious

          Actually, that remark is precious. Because the value of life to itself and to others is a factor that modifies that statement enormously. Trying to put every form of life on an equal footing is outright absurd.

          What life is not precious? What life is of no value, and can be wasted or treated as such.

  • by mkwan ( 2589113 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2024 @12:07AM (#64202806)
    Once eels have finished growing up in freshwater, they migrate to a remote ocean location to spawn. In this phase of their life, their digestive system disappears and they stop eating, so they have to store enough fat to make a journey of thousands of kilometres.

    And that energy density is probably what makes grilled eel so delicious.
  • Attention!

    All red level troubleshooters, please report to the food vats, immediately, for processing.

    Thank you, The Computer

  • Sorry, but it's fucking eel. I think we can survive without this one particular technology and figure out how to make commercial produce not taste like cardboard.
  • ... a type of sushi.

    I'd expect a Brit to know more about cuisine: Even a journalist for the environment. That's like calling buffalo "wings", a type of potato. A google search revealed Unagi Nigiri is barbecued eel and sushi (rice).

  • by Lady Galadriel ( 4942909 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2024 @09:20AM (#64203336)
    We have an invasion of Lamprey in the Great Lakes due to ocean going ships, (and barges), transiting up the locks and rivers to the Great Lakes. They are quite invasive, and probably don't have any fishing limits on them.

    So, what does Lamprey taste like when prepared the same as Eel?


    Imagine hundreds of Great Lake fishing boats out to catch as many Lamprey as possible. Perhaps Lamprey sells no where near the $250 kilogram as Eel. But, even at 1/10 that price, $25 a kilogram would likely be so profitable that hundreds of fishing boats would be able to justify their existence. And the bonus is we get to reduce an invasive species at the same time. Even making Lamprey extinct in the Great Lakes would not mater.

    We could even use the left over bits of Lamprey that don't make the cut for human consumption into cat or dog food.


    Any comments?
    Useful or otherwise?
    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      Just convince the Chinese that it's an aphrodisiac. They'll be extinct in no time.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )

      The problem with eel is that it's price is largely due to its rarity.

      Its rarity is partially supply related, but it's also demand related. Not many people want to eat it.

      Having a stand-in like lamprey won't change that.

      Lamprey apparently tastes like squid. Not a great taste, IMO, and definitely an acquired one.

  • by alispguru ( 72689 ) <bob.baneNO@SPAMme.com> on Wednesday January 31, 2024 @09:32AM (#64203374) Journal

    Not the sky-is-falling one - this one [ycombinator.com] from The Space Merchants by Pohl and Kornbluth.

  • "We successfully made eel meat in the lab!" That's what happens when the science nerds make all the decisions.
  • The eel meat was produced by Forsea Foods in Israel

    The rules of Kosher are simple: if it lives in the water, it must have scales to be edible. This excludes eel (as well as crab, lobster, oysters, sturgeon and catfish)...

    Now lab-grown could work — because it is fake — but, given rabbinate's earlier refusal to approve fake pork [isahalal.com], I doubt, they'll approve fake eel either. Then again, fake crab is fine — because it is made from regular (scaly) fish...

    • by fyngyrz ( 762201 )

      The rules of Kosher are simple

      You do realize that the entire population of Israel is not superstitious, right? Many Israelis don't give a flying fuck what rabbis say.

      • by mi ( 197448 )

        You do realize that the entire population of Israel is not superstitious

        Superstitions — like fears of number 13 and black cats — are what people resort to, when religion is taken from them :-)

        Many Israelis don't give a flying fuck what rabbis say.

        Most care [pewresearch.org], though.

        What you could've pointed out is that it is not wrong for observant Jews to produce non-Kosher foods — as long as they don't eat them. That would've been a valid point.

        But you didn't — such was your urge to attack the reli

        • by fyngyrz ( 762201 )

          Superstitions — like fears of number 13 and black cats — are what people resort to, when religion is taken from them

          Religion is superstition. 100% accurate.

          such was your urge to attack the religious

          You have confused a factual descriptor with an attack. 0/10.

    • My thoughts exactly! Well, close enough anyhow. My first thought was, "Israel? Is eel kosher?" And no, it is not.
  • For those of you who avoid processed food, you should avoid any "meat" grown in a vat.

  • ...thank you
  • by TJHook3r ( 4699685 ) on Wednesday January 31, 2024 @12:33PM (#64203854)
    As Dean Martin said, that's a moray
  • Fantastic, just what I wanted in the "fresh horrors" department: taking something disturbing and using it to create something disgusting.

  • Eel meat, just like grandma used to make. Oh, wait...

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