每日英語跟讀 Ep.K552: Cultured Meat Company Unveils Giant Meatball Made with DNA of Extinct Mammoth
Vow, an Australian cultured meat company, has revealed a giant meatball made with the DNA of an extinct woolly mammoth at the Nemo Science Museum in the Netherlands. The meatball was made to encourage people to discuss cultured meat as a more sustainable alternative to traditional meat. The company used sheep cells that were inserted with a mammoth gene called myoglobin, which is responsible for the aroma, taste and color of meat. The DNA sequence of the mammoth had a few gaps, so African elephant DNA was also inserted to complete it.
澳洲培養肉公司Vow在荷蘭的Nemo科學博物館展示了一個使用絕種猛瑪象DNA製作的巨型肉丸，旨在鼓勵人們討論以培養肉作為傳統肉類的永續替代品。該公司使用羊細胞，並插入一種名為肌紅蛋白的猛瑪象基因，負責調節肉的氣味、口感和顏色。由於猛瑪象的DNA序列有些空缺，因此還插入了非洲象的DNA以進行補完。
Vow's Chief Scientific Officer, James Ryall, explained that the meatball's myoglobin gene was responsible for its unique smell, taste, and color. Ryall highlighted that they did not create actual animals like in the movie Jurassic Park, but the process involved inserting genes into sheep cells to create the mammoth meatball. Vow chose the mammoth as it was an extinct animal that scientists believe went extinct due to climate change.
Vow的首席科學家詹姆斯·賴爾（James Ryall）解釋道，肉丸的肌紅蛋白基因負責賦予其獨特的氣味、味道和顏色。賴爾強調，他們沒有像電影《侏羅紀公園》中那樣創造實際的動物，而是通過將基因插入羊的細胞來製作長毛象肉丸。Vow選擇猛瑪象，因為科學家認為它是因為氣候變遷而絕種的動物。
Vow aims to promote the use of cultured meat in the European Union, where it is currently not regulated as food. Vow's founder, Tim Noakesmith, stated that they wanted to create something entirely different from traditional meat. The meatball, which has an aroma similar to crocodile meat, is not currently available for consumption. According to Noakesmith, the protein in the mammoth meat is 4,000 years old, and the company will conduct rigorous testing before bringing it to market.
Vow旨在推廣培養肉在歐盟的使用，目前培養肉作為食品尚未受到規範。Vow的創始人提姆·諾克史密斯（Tim Noakesmith）表示，他們希望創造一些完全不同於傳統肉的產品。這個肉丸的氣味類似鱷魚肉，目前還不適合食用。諾克史密斯表示，肉中的蛋白質已經有4000年的歷史，公司將在將其推向市場之前進行嚴格的測試。
The company used an alternative to the usual method of creating cultured meat, which involves using blood from a dead calf. Vow's process did not involve killing any animals. The mammoth meatball is an example of the possibilities of using cultured meat to produce food in a more sustainable manner. Vow hopes to raise awareness about this alternative source of meat and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable food system for the future.
該公司採用了與通常創造培養肉的方法不同的替代方法，通常方法包括使用死去小牛犢的血液，Vow的過程不涉及殺死任何動物。這個猛獁肉丸是使用培養肉製作食品的可能性之一，以更永續的方式生產食品。Vow希望提高人們對這種替代肉源的認識，最終為未來的永續食品系統做出貢獻。Reference article: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/giant-meatball-extinct-mammoth-unveiled-netherlands-2023-03-28/