The world’s first woolly mammoth meatball, made using the extinct giant’s DNA, has been unveiled at Nemo Science museum in Amsterdam.
The unusual delicacy was created as part of a scientific experiment using advanced molecular engineering by Australian cultured meat company Vow and a team of international experts to demonstrate the potential of cultured meat to revolutionise the food industry. Using new and innovative technology, the mammoth meatball was created from the DNA of the extinct woolly mammoth and completed with fragments of African elephant DNA the mammoth's closest living relative - which was then used to grow the meatball.
James Ryall, Vow’s Chief Scientific Officer says: “What's truly exciting about this project is the ability to create a protein that hasn't existed in thousands of years”. The meatball concept was initiated by creative disruptor Bas Korsten, Chief Creative Officer at global creative agency Wunderman Thompson.
He explains: “The Mammoth Meatball shows the world that when technology meets creativity it can change our future. “Our aim is to start a conversation about how we eat, and what the future alternatives can look and taste like. Cultured Meat is meat, but not as we know it”.
Unlike most other cultivated meat startups, Vow is using its molecular technology to create new products that go beyond replicating existing pieces of meat. By working with a team of scientists, chefs, and creators, it is exploring new flavours, textures, and nutritional benefits that have never been seen before. With food production a major contributor global greenhouse gases, and a growing global population approaching 9 billion, there is a need to produce more food in greener ways.
Vow aim to address these problems with their innovative approach to creating cultured meat - that may even prove better than the real thing. The company will be launching their first brand, Forged by Vow, in Singapore later this year, creating new dining experiences unlike anything seen before.