Lab Grown Meat

• Context (WION): Israel has successfully produced lab-grown freshwater eel meat.
• Also known as cultured meat or cell-based meat, lab grown meat is a type of meat produced by in vitro cultivation of animal cells.
• These cells are created by cultivating muscle cells, fat cells, and other tissue types in a controlled environment and are given the resources they require to replicate and develop into edible meat.
• The process is normally carried out in bioreactors, specialized containers designed to facilitate the cellular cultivation process.
• This method of producing meat is also known as Cellular Agriculture due to the methods used.
• In 2020, Singapore became the first country to grant permission for the sale of lab-grown meat.

Benefits of Lab-Grown Meat

• Reduced emissions: FAO estimates that methane and nitrous oxide, primarily generated by livestock production, account for around 14.5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
• Prevention of Animal Slaughter
• Reduced land and energy use: A study by Oxford University found that cultured meat production uses 90% less land and 75% less water compared to conventional meat production.
• Food Security and Customisation: It can help address food security challenges by providing a more efficient way to produce protein.

Eels (Anguilliformes)

• The eel is a very long, snake-like freshwater fish that can grow to over a metre in length.
• It looks smooth and lacks the obvious scales and gills of other fish.
• To swim, eels generate waves that travel the length of their bodies. To swim backwards, they reverse the direction of the wave.
• Habitat: Eels can be found in both freshwater and saltwater, with the majority of species found at sea.
• Distribution: Africa, Asia, Central America, Eurasia, Europe, North America, Ocean, Oceania, and South America. Few species of eel have also been found in India.
• Threats: Pollution, environmental changes and overfishing.