The world's first hamburger patty made from bovine stem cells should be ready by this autumn. According to news agency AFP, researchers at Maastricht university are on the verge of a breakthrough, which could revolutionise breeding and worldwide food supplies as well as benefit the environment.

At a scientist's conference in Vancouver/Canada, Dr Mark Post from Maastricht university said the burger could be ready by October, it would cost 250,000 € to make.

So how does it work ? As the researcher explains, meat can be produced by using any type of stem cell through a technique that has been in use in medicine for 20 years now and which is considered to be very reliable. For this first patty, bone muscle stem cells were used, obtained from the serum of a bovine foetus. The matter produced in this way had exactly the same structure as the original, says the researcher.

Dr Post's main objective is to reduce the carbon footprint of industrial cattle breeding. The vast amount of animals, bred for fast food burgers, release methane gas, which has a greenhouse effect 20 times worse than carbon dioxide.