With the fake meats market now worth US$8.5 billion it’s scientists, not farmers, who are growing the foods of the future. Indeed a team from Yonsei University in South Korea has just created a protein-enriched “meaty” rice, where the grains are infused with lab-grown beef muscle and fat cells, which they claim offers a more eco-friendly source of protein.
Meat-infused rice doesn’t sound particularly appetising, but could this pink-hued “frankenfood” catch on? The developers claim it contains 8 per cent more protein than regular rice and has a much smaller carbon footprint than beef. Sounds impressive, but bearing in mind that 100g of cooked white rice contains 2.7g of protein, even beefed up by 8 per cent this is still only 2.9g, a trifling amount compared to the 25g of protein contained in the same weight of cooked beef.
And should we be eating more rice anyway, protein-enriched or otherwise? Regular white rice is comprised primarily of refined carbohydrates, which can spike blood sugar levels – something we are told to avoid if we want to prevent Type 2 diabetes in later life. But not all rice is created equal, and wholegrain, fibre-rich varieties can form part of a healthy, balanced diet. Here’s how the different types of rice stack up.
White rice
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
