Real meat, without the animal: Lab-grown meat makes its way to NC

For decades, companies have been perfecting products that mimic meat. Now, a new wave of technology has made it possible to grow real meat, without the need for animals and all of the resources it takes to raise and slaughter them.

Yaakov Nahmias is an Israeli biomedical engineer, professor, and the brain behind Moonsteak and Believer Meats, two companies making animal-free burgers, chicken breasts and even cuts of steak.

"It really tastes like lamb, it's not similar," said a taste-tester on stage at the OurCrowd Investor Summit in Israel, where Nahmias showed off cultivated lamb chops with bones made of wood.

“You’re getting the protein, you're getting the aroma, and you're getting the experience of meat without going through animals," Nahmias said.

Cultured meat companies like Believer Meats are able to use cells from animals to grow only the parts that consumers want to eat, such as muscle and fat, in a controlled lab setting.

“When you look at the ecological impact of cultured meat, we’re talking about 95% less space, 80% less water, and 98% less carbon emissions," Nahmias said.

Believer Meats is creating the world's first large-scale cultivated meat facility 40 miles east of Raleigh in Wilson.

The project is bringing an initial investment of more than $123 million to the area and once completed, will have the capacity to produce 22 million pounds of meat without slaughtering a single animal.

The facility is expected to be operational between Q2 and Q3 next year and the company says it plans to create more than 100 new jobs.