Meat, Choppers, and Catherine the Great

With all the talk of healthy and environmentally-conscious eating, Russia is now investing in the development of artificial meat. While the meat-loving country has a tradition of faith-inspired vegetarianism (as seen in the many inventive menus for Orthodox Lent), it has produced its first faux meat “cutlet” after putting R900,000 (approximately $14,000) into the project.

“Test tube meat is a rather promising direction in the meat industry,” and it is also of “ethical importance,” said Nikolai Shimanovsky, a molecular pharmacologist who is curating the creation of this new product at the Ochakovsky Meat Factory.

It’s not entirely clear what the new non-meat is made of, and it may be a while before it becomes attractive to consumers: for the time being, one kilogram of the substance will set you back some R5,800, or nearly $90.