Biotech Firm Looking to Begin Production of 3D Printed Leather and Eventually Meat In Brooklyn

It’s straight out of a science fiction novel, printing out pieces of meat without having to kill an animal, or printing cowhide without skinning a cow. Believe it or not, though, this is exactly what is on the horizon for 3D bioprinting, possibly sooner than we all imagined.

Modern Meadow, the company responsible for locking up $250,000 in funding from Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel back in 2012, appears to be making some major progress. Reports from Crain’s New York, indicate that the company is currently negotiating for the lease of a 10,000 square foot warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, at the BioBAT facility.

According to the company, the building will serve as a production facility for the bioprinting of leather, and eventually beef, and pork. How soon? Modern Meadow estimates that within one to two years they will begin producing leather, which can be as thick as that on the sole of a boot, or as thin as silk. The meat printing may take a bit longer than that..

“We grow genuine leather without having to kill animals or wreck the environment,” Chief Executive Andras Forgacs said last week. “And we can dial in certain performance and aesthetic qualities that are appealing to high fashion.”

In fact, Forgacs’ decision to lease a facility in New York, instead of the originally planned location at the University of Missouri, is based on the trendy New York fashion and restaurant scenes. This will allow the company to market their products locally, by tapping into businesses around the NYC area.

“New York is the center of the fashion industry in the U.S., and one of the most exciting and creative food environments. We look forward to working with talent on both fronts,” Said Forgacs.

Modern Meadow prides itself on addressing some of the most important environmental challenges in the world today. Not only will their products eliminate the slaughter of many animals, but they will also require much lower inputs of water, energy and land to produce the same amount of meat and leather as current production methods do. They estimated that their means of production will use just 1% of current land use, 4% of current water use, and require just 55% of the energy needed for traditional production methods, via farming.

Discuss 3D printed Meat and Leather here: http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.php?1711-3D-Printed-Leather-and-Meat-On-Their-Way