The End of Leather in 5 Years?

Leather. Animal testing. Meat. All of these things could be replaced in a matter of years thanks to exciting innovations in bioprinting. Last week, Scientific American ran an article "Tissue-Engineered Leather Could be Mass-Produced by 2017 " that put a spotlight on one of the most promising technological developments in recent history. Why replace things like leather? Deforestation, excessive resource consumption, animal cruelty and greenhouse gas emissions are just a few of the major problems associated with animal leathers.

"...in an exclusive interview with Txchnologist, company cofounder and CEO Andras Forgacs has broken the silence and revealed some details about Modern Meadow’s goals. Their first project? In vitro leather production.

“Our emphasis first is not on meat, it’s on leather,” Forgacs says. “The main reason is that, technically, skin is a simpler structure than meat, making it easier to produce... A full-scale leather production facility, on the other hand, could be up and running in five years.” - Scientific American