What is in vitro meat? An unappealing name for animal muscle tissue grown in a lab from animal stem cells. This research is in the very early stages, but the hope is to be able to grow meat for consumption without having to kill as many animals. Maybe not suitable for vegans since it does start with cells from an actual animal (like a cow, pig, fish or chicken), but it could be more environmentally sustainable for meat production.

In discussion section for MCB 38, we developed an assignment related to in vitro meat where we ask groups of students to pretend they work for an in vitro meat company that needs to promote their product to the public. What will you call it? What qualities will you emphasize in the ad? This is a good way to discuss how stem cell products are advertised and how to recognize false claims. The students really get into this assignment and produce great (and punny) ads. The graduate student instructors do a great job leading this activity each year.

The assignment

(Note: this was originally written by the GSIs in spring 2018.)
Scenario: You are a team of 4-6 people. You are ambitious young entrepreneurs who believe in your product—in vitro/lab-grown/clean meat. You are at the stage where you must market and expand your business. You start to create a 1-page magazine ad on how to sell your product.
• What is your company name?
• What is your slogan?
• What information would you want to include in the ad?
• What illustrations or scenarios would you include to get your message across?
• What is your message, mission, or purpose? Is this conveyed through the ad?

Student ads

A few examples from spring 2019.