Scientists have developed 'meaty rice'. Will you taste it when in market?
The hybrid food is a result of research by South Korean scientists
LAHORE/SEOUL (Web Desk) – We in Pakistan cook things like biryani and pulao which involve cooking rice and meat together. These two delicacies are now also part of the cultural war between Karachi and Lahore, which is further fuelled with the induction of aalo [potato] in biryani.
At the same time, things are changing amid the climate crisis triggered by global warming, with scientists making efforts to introduce new food, or varieties of crops, that are reduce the burden on natural resources given population bomb and the available natural resources in terms soil and water.
So beef in every grain of rice is the answer – which can be described as a “hybrid regime” – as scientists in South Korea have managed to develop a new variety of rice which carries beef inside the grain.
The study “most grains, including rice grains, have a granular structure. Rice grains are made up of about 80 per cent starch, 20 per cent protein, and other minerals”.
Now, the researchers at the Yonsei University in South Korea say the “meaty rice” has 8pc more protein and 7pc more fat – a percentage which may not be attractive for the meat lovers, but is still quite an achievement.
In this connections, the scientists grew beef cells inside the rice grains. However, the product is not yet approved for consumers, but certainly addition to a growing list of lab-grown meat and alternative proteins being developed in a bid to reduce the climate impact of meat and dairy.
They hope the nutrient-dense rice could provide "relief for famine, military ration, or even space food" - if it could be scaled up and if consumers are willing to try it.
But why rice was chosen as a host? Because of its porous structure that mimics the three-dimensional environment in animals that cells need to grow.
The grains were coated with fish gelatine to help the meat cells latch on and then the scientists then added cow muscle and fat cells and left it all to culture in a petri dish for nine to 11 days, before harvesting the final product as a "cell-cultured beef rice".
It claims the "main ingredients" in the product "meet food safety requirements and have a low risk of triggering food allergies".
They also estimate it would release almost eight times less greenhouse gases that heat the climate, creating 7kg of carbon dioxide per 100g of protein produced, compared with 50kg from beef.
Sharing the reasoning behind this venture, one of the researchers said: "We usually obtain the protein we need from livestock, but livestock production consumes a lot of resources and water and releases a lot of greenhouse gas. Imagine obtaining all the nutrients we need from cell-cultured protein rice.”
