Lab-grown "Veg" Leather Jackets In the Offing

Leather jackets grown in lab could be available for sale within 5 years, claims an US biotech firm.

PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel is backing the firm Modern Meadow's endeavor and has given them a grant of 220,000 pounds.

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The company is also developing lab grown meat, but said that its first product could change the clothing industry.

"Our emphasis first is not on meat, it's on leather," the Daily Mail quoted company co-founder and CEO Andras Forgacs, as telling Txchnologist.

"The main reason is that, technically, skin is a simpler structure than meat, making it easier to produce. Anecdotally, we've found that around 40 percent of people would be willing to try cultured meat.

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"There's much less controversy around using leather that doesn't involve killing animals," he said.

The firm said the biggest hurdle it faced was how to mass produce the cells needed for leather and meat.

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The company's meat and leather would be competing for a share of a combined 2.5 trillion-dollar-market, Forgacs said.

The firm hoped their project could ease environmental concerns over the meat production.

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Source-ANI