The World's First Test-Tube Burger Will Be Cooked And Eaten Today

Two volunteers will taste the world's first test-tube burger in London on Monday, Aug. 5.

The burger, made from Cultured Beef, will be cooked in a frying pan and then served to both diners in front of invite-only guests.

The hamburger's creator, Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University, believes that in-vitro meat could end the impending food crisis and satisfy the world's growing demand for meat without destroying the environment or harming animals.

The burger is made from a real animal. This makes it different from "imitation meat," like soy protein, used in vegetarian or vegan foods.

Muscle cells are harvested from a cow. The cells are placed into a donut-shaped dish with a nutrient solution — a mix of sugars, fats, amino acids, and minerals.

The cells become muscle tissue and grow into small strands of meat.

Around 20,000 meat strands are needed to make one five-ounce burger, Post says.

Ingredients like salt, egg powder, and breadcrumbs are combined with the Cultured Beef to make the burger. Scientists use red beet juice and saffron for coloring. Without this, the meat strands are an unappetizing, grayish color due to the lack of blood cells.

The lab-grown meat was still "not tasty" when Post spoke to Reuters in 2011. The first public tasting will be the ultimate test. Have scientists created something that lives up to the real thing?

Post is optimistic; he predicts that commercial production of test-tube beef could begin within the next 10 to 20 years.

Stay here for live updates when the cooking begins at 8 a.m. EDT.