The world’s first hamburger with laboratory-made burger will be produced this fall, according to Dutch scientists at Maastricht University.

"In-vitro meat" will be grown from 10.000 stem cells extracted from cattle, which are left in the lab to multiply more than a billion times to produce muscle tissue similar to beef.

The world’s meat consumption is expected to double by 2050 as the population increases and "test-tube" meat could pave the way for consuming meat without animals being slaughtered.

"I don’t see any way you could rely on old-fashioned livestock in the coming decades. In vitro meat will be the only choice left… We are trying to prove to the world we can make a product out of this, and we need a courageous person who is willing to be the first to taste it… If no one comes forward then it might be me," said Mark Post, the professor of physiology who is behind the project.

Note that in 2009, researchers grew strips of pork using the same method but it was grey, had texture similar to calamari and was not particularly appetising.

Original post: June 28, 2011
Update: February 20, 2012

Source: Mail Online, Deccan Chronicle