We live in interesting times. Fascinating times. That is one thing we can be pretty sure about.
With lab grown and plant-based meats already making its way to the restaurant tables, now an Israeli startup is working on lab grown dairy products. And not from any cow cells or milk cells but purely created in a laboratory.
According to the people behind Remilk, they have found a way to make milk without using a single cow in the process, by genetically recreating the proteins found in milk and inserting them into a single cell microbe, whatever that means. They then used a microbial fermentation process to increase the proteins and then dried it into a powder.
They claim this process has given them an identical copy of milk, but without the lactose and without the cholesterol.
This should be great for lactose-intolerant Jews.
When TOI asked if this milk will be pareve or dairy, they stressed that while not being a rabbi to make such a determination, not a single cell was taken from a cow (or any other animal) in the process. Yet, it is a milk protein like regular milk and he claims in the lab they are identical.
To me it seems this would clearly be pareve and not dairy. It is even better than the lab grown meat from an animal cell, on which there is a question and debate because of the animal cell used as the source. This is purely done in the lab with no animal cells. Maybe there would be a maris ayin issue, until this product becomes so popular and well known, but considering it as actual dairy seems unreasonable.
Soon you might be able to eat lab grown meat while drinking a cup of lab grown chocolate milk
I look forward to hearing the different opinions about this new development.
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