GROWING artificial meat in vats could be the solution to the looming problem of how to feed the world's booming population, according to a group of leading international scientists.
The concept was announced by the Royal Society - a UK-based fellowship of scientists - in 21 academic papers exploring the future of global food supplies.
The papers examine ways to feed the world's population healthily and sustainably.
The population of the world is expected to reach nine billion by 2050.
In a paper titled Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects, Dr Philip Thornton, a scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, wrote that growing artificial meat in vats could be a "wildcard" option to feed the world more easily.
"Its development is generally held to be perfectly feasible, and indeed research projects on it have been running for a decade already," Dr Thornton wrote.
"There are likely to be some issues associated with social acceptability, although presumably meat 'grown in vats' could be made healthier by changing its composition and made much more hygienic than traditional meat, as it would be cultured in sterile conditions."
Other solutions put forward included reducing food waste in rich and poor countries.
This could be achieved by building better storage facilities for food, and by countries only purchasing produce that they need and will consume.
The papers were published online Monday in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
