Maneka Gandhi vouches for 'clean meat' as future of protein

Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Saturday strongly supported the promotion of ‘clean meat’ (laboratory-grown meat) against animal meat and said that it is the future of protein. Maneka was addressing a gathering after the inauguration of ‘The Future of Protein: A Summit on the new food revolution’ in Hyderabad.

“Clean meat has been invented. The cellular multiplications of meat cells in a meat serum is already there. The point is, how do we put it into a commercial form and how do we involve industry?” she told reporters.

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The CCMBB and Humane Society International (HIS) India have recently signed a MoU to develop and promote clean meat in India.

Gandhi said government institutions should research on the subject and make the data available for the public, as the foreign countries are also allowed to develop and distribute lab-grown meat in the country.

The technology on ‘clean meat’ is at the final stages in the Unites States and it is likely to get Food and Drug Administration recognition by 2019, she said.

“Yes. The world is eating dirty meat. Do you think that by washing, it becomes clean? No. Because, it itself there are so many diseases. Foot and mouth, tuberculosis ... leukemia, these are only a few of the things,” she said when asked if India is currently eating “dirty meat.

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Consuming animal meat is a burden on the environment as well in view of the foodgrains to be fed to the animals and the amount of water they consume, she said.

“The fact that it is called clean meat immediately has a resonance,” she said.

“I am not attempting to put you on to a plant-based diet even though I would like to. I am saying that I cannot stop you from eating meat. So, why not eat good meat?” she said when asked about the fact that meat is a source of protein for poor people.

“Take the best possible cells. Multiply them... Clean meat means meat that has been multiplied by using animal cells,” she said.

“Therefore, you inspect the cells. They will be not be carrying disease. They will be multiplied in sterile conditions...,” she added.