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[00:01.88]South Korean researchers have combined

[00:04.68]cow muscle cells with rice grains.

[00:08.76]They say the new rice is an important step

[00:11.72]towards a sustainable, less costly source of protein.

[00:16.28]The researchers suggested it could replace

[00:19.16]the meat of farmed cattle, or beef.

[00:22.68]Professor Jinkee Hong of Yonsei University

[00:25.64]led the research.

[00:27.96]Hong said the "beef rice"

[00:29.92]is the first product of its kind.

[00:33.12]The results of the research

[00:34.56]were recently published in Matter.

[00:37.76]The beef rice uses grain particles as the base

[00:41.36]for growing animal muscle and fat cells.

[00:45.32]The researchers treated rice grains

[00:47.48]with chemicals called enzymes

[00:49.80]to create an environment for cell growth.

[00:53.92]They added cells from cattle

[00:55.88]to create the final product,

[00:57.72]which is a combination, or hybrid, of the two.

[01:02.40]The result looks like a grain of rice

[01:04.92]with a pink color.

[01:07.44]Companies around the world have launched efforts

[01:10.56]to develop meat that is grown in a laboratory.

[01:14.80]One of the latest attempts involves

[01:17.00]plant-based chicken and eel meat

[01:20.04]developed from soybean that is sold in Singapore.

[01:24.56]Hong's team said rice has an added gain

[01:27.72]in terms of safety compared to soy or nuts

[01:31.96]because fewer people have allergic reactions to it.

[01:36.40]He said that if it is developed into food products,

[01:39.76]"cultured beef rice could serve

[01:42.00]as a sustainable protein source."

[01:45.32]He added that it would be good in environments

[01:48.12]where traditional animal farming is too difficult.

[01:52.40]The beef rice contains around

[01:54.36]eight percent more protein

[01:56.32]and seven percent more fat than normal rice.

[02:01.28]Hong noted the protein is 18 percent animal based.

[02:06.56]That makes it a good source of important nutrients

[02:10.08]needed by humans called essential amino acids.

[02:15.00]Beef rice costs about two dollars per kilogram.

[02:18.68]Hong said it results in the release of less carbon gas

[02:23.28]than traditional cattle raising.

[02:26.24]He said that it could compete

[02:28.28]with other products in stores.

[02:31.56]Hong said there are still some problems in production.

[02:35.24]And, he added, it will not be easy

[02:38.44]to get people to accept its taste

[02:40.84]and how it feels in the mouth, or its texture.

[02:46.08]Keum Dong-kyu recently ate the beef rice

[02:49.24]at a restaurant in the Korean capital Seoul.

[02:52.92]He praised the new idea.

[02:55.24]Keum said, "But honestly,

[02:58.36]I don't think it can replicate the juiciness

[03:01.04]or texture of real beef."

[03:03.88]Christian Krammel, who is from Germany,

[03:06.16]expressed hope for the future.

[03:09.20]Krammel said, "Now, it does not compare to beef yet,

[03:13.08]but as I see the research is in early stages,

[03:16.72]I would say it's a great way forward."

[03:20.12]I'm Jill Robbins.

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Words in This Story

sustainable – adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

pink – n. a pale red color: a color that is a mixture of red and white

allergy – n. a medical condition that causes someone to become sick after eating, touching, or breathing something that is harmless to most people

replicate – v. to repeat or copy (something) exactly

juicy – adj. containing a lot of juice, the liquid part of meat

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