B.J. Novak on Cultured Meat: "It's a real shot at changing everything"
Screenwriter, director, producer and actor B.J. Novak, best known for his roles on and off the set of The Office, has stated in a recent interview that he supports cultured meat and sees it is a game-changer. In the feature about his latest film, The Founder, which chronicles the story of McDonald’s, Novak elaborated on cultured meat and what it may mean for the future of food:
“This sounds sci-fi, but I think it’s a real shot at changing everything — do you know about the companies that are using meat stem cells to clone meat in a lab? They take the cells of animal meat in a petri dish and grow and grow and grow it. The same as you can graft one apple into a million different apple trees, you could just get one unlucky cow and feed the world forever.”
He added that he is “supporting a few companies that do that,” and pointed out startup Memphis Meats as an example. He recently tweeted his praise towards the company and their senior scientist, writing:
“I wish you all the success in the world - and even more, I wish all the world your success!”
Novak seems to share the optimism of Uma Valeti, co-founder and CEO of Memphis Meats, who stated “cultured meat will completely replace the status quo and make raising animals unthinkable.” A new documentary, Meat the Future, will also focus on cultured meat and follows the story and work of the startup. You can learn more about the film and watch the trailer here.
Photo Credit: www.cbc.ca
