With global meat consumption projected to double by 2050, the food production industry is always looking for better and more efficient ways to produce sources such as beef and chicken.

Raising livestock is a messy business.  Animals require water and food, they produce tons of waste, then there's issues of disease and animal cruelty.  Is there a better way?  Well, scientists at the recent In Vitro Meat Symposium in Norway think so: grow bio-engineered meat in giant tanks.

Sounds kind of gross on one level.  Still, would anyone notice the difference in a lab-grown chicken nugget, hot dog or SPAM burger?  On one level, we're so used to seeing our meat as a "packaged product" I doubt many consumers would notice the difference.  I mean, have you ever seen the "steak" in a Hungry Man frozen dinner?  C'mon, you expect me to believe that came from a real animal? ;)

Also, think of the benefits.  No manure polluting waterways, less methane emissions, no deforestation to accommodate grazing lands, tons of grain could be used for other things... and the list goes on.  Not to mention that issues of animal welfare and animal cruelty suddenly become a non-issue when your source of protein is grown in a big bioreactor.  If they could produce seafood-like meats we could stop stripping our oceans bare and allow fish populations to recover.

Test tube meat may seem gross on one level, but in a way it's less disturbing than the inside of a slaughterhouse.

» Wired