The leather jacket even vegetarians can wear
Modern Meadow also plans to grow meat in the lab – but says public perceptions mean it will grow leather first
Leather grown in a lab could be on sale within five years, according to a firm backed by PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel.
Modern Meadow is also developing lab grown meat – but says that its first product could change the clothing industry.
The firm says the firm lab grow leather could be on sale within five years.
‘Our emphasis first is not on meat, it’s on leather,’ company cofounder and CEO Andras Forgacsays told Txchnologist.
‘The main reason is that, technically, skin is a simpler structure than meat, making it easier to produce.’
The firm said part of its decision to focus on leather was the public reaction to its plans for
‘Anecdotally, we’ve found that around 40 percent of people would be willing to try cultured meat,’ he says.
‘There’s much less controversy around using leather that doesn’t involve killing animals.’
The firm says its biggest problem is how to mass produce the cells needed for leather and meat.
