March 7, 2022

We may have to check ourselves into a cuteness recovery center after seeing all the pet pics you sent in. Thank you for introducing us to your pets ⁠— we'll feature 3 per day through the week. Gotta say, we're a little disappointed that nobody sent in a pic of their pet Madagascar hissing cockroach.

Hope you had a great weekend. Today's Wrap breaks down a meaty topic: Lab-grown...meat. Let's ride.

― Key Stories

EVs' Cold Winter
Overview

• Studies are finding that cold weather can cost electric vehicles (EVs) 40%+ of their battery power
• The cold slows chemical reactions within batteries, increasing their charging times and draining their energy. EVs also use extra energy for interior heating because they lack engine-generated heat
• At warm temperatures, most EVs perform near their projected range or better; in the cold, they all perform worse — some by 40%+ per AAA
• Battery analysis firm Recurrent reports that of all EVs, Teslas have the least weather-related variability in their ranges due to advanced heating systems

US Job Boom

• The US added 678,000 jobs in February, the biggest gain in 7 months
• The numbers carried the national unemployment rate to 3.8%, just above the 50-year low of 3.5% hit before the pandemic. Unemployment was 6.2% a year ago and 14.7% in April 2020
• The numbers weren't enough to help the stock market, for which last week was the fourth down week in a row
• This weekend, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the Ukrainian war may make inflation worse as it leads to higher prices of oil, grain, gas, and more

Foreign Media Leaves Russia

• Russia blocked Facebook and other social medias, citing discrimination by the companies
• It comes as the Russian government tries to control information about the war in Ukraine and as western governments ban Russian state media. Most social media platforms banned the major Kremlin-backed news co. following media sanctions from the EU
• Russia also passed a law that makes “fake news” about the war, including death figures different from the military's, punishable with 15 years in jail. In response, CNN stopped broadcasting there; the BBC and Bloomberg suspended reporting from Russia

Russia-Ukraine War Update
Overview

• A Russo-Ukrainian agreement to allow humanitarian evacuation corridors collapsed on Saturday, as Ukraine accused Russia of twice continuing to attack during the specified ceasefire times. Russia said Ukrainian “nationalists” blocked the civilian exits
• Russia continued its attempt to encircle Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, while continuing airstrikes and shelling of major Ukrainian cities (Mariupol, Chernihiv, Kharkiv)
• The humanitarian situation in those cities has become increasingly dire, as supplies of food, medicine, and gas run low
• Large pro-Ukraine protests broke out in Kherson, the first and only major city Russia has yet seized

See yesterday's results below the Wrap!

 Popcorn

Culture & Sports 

• The hero Hollywood needed: The Batman roared out of the gate with a $128M box office opening, the 2nd biggest of the pandemic
• 2 legends, one film: The I Am Legend sequel will reportedly co-star Will Smith, the lead in the 2007 film, and Michael B. Jordan
• Charlotte FC broke the MLS attendance record in its first home game on Saturday night. 74,000 fans packed Bank of America Stadium

• Panic at the Citgo! The national average for a gallon of gas surpassed $4 on Sunday. Gas prices are now at their highest level since 2008
• Italy has seized $156M in luxury yachts & villas belonging to Russian oligarchs. European countries are turning up the heat on Russian elites
• Netflix and sanction? Netflix has completely suspended its service in Russia days after it paused all projects there

• Alec Baldwin accused the litigants who filed a suit against him last month over the Rust shooting of targeting people with "deep pockets"
• Wordle of the day is... "Cheat"? A recent study analyzing Google search trends claims that many people are cheating in Wordle
• Keeping up with the usernames: Kim Kardashian has removed "West" from her usernames on Instagram and Twitter
• Dozens of beef jerky brands were recalled over the weekend after the FDA discovered a listeria (bacteria that can infect you) contamination

― Roca Wrap

A Newsletter Exclusive

Will lab-generated meat soon be at the supermarket? Breakthroughs in technology and $3B in recent investments suggest the answer is yes. 

According to McKinsey, the market for cell-based meat is projected to reach $25B by 2030.  While that’s a fraction of the current $1.3T meat industry, the number is growing rapidly. Cell-based meat wasn’t legal to sell anywhere in the world until 2020.

That year, Singapore became the first nation to grant regulatory approval to cell-based meat when it allowed a company there to sell its lab-grown chicken. Qatar has signaled that it may soon do the same. The United States Department of Agriculture and FDA expect to have their guidelines for lab-grown meat finalized later this year. 

To make cultured meat, lab workers put an animal’s fat or muscle stem cells into a culture that feeds the cells. The cells are then moved to a machine that helps them grow further, and the cell lump is molded to resemble meat. Lab-grown meat companies say that they can turn a single tissue sample into literal tons of food. One such company, Mosa Meat, says it can turn one sample into 80,000 quarter pounders. 

Yet the complexity of that process, which takes several weeks, means costs are high. In December, one company, Future Meats, reported that it had cut its chicken breast production costs from $18 to $7.70 a pound in just 6 months. That’s still far higher than the $3.60 the average pound of chicken costs at a US supermarket, and it doesn’t include all the mark-ups, shipping, and related charges. 

Proponents of cell-meat say that it will prevent disease from food-borne illness or from slaughterhouse contamination. They also claim it will allow people to continue eating meat while massively cutting down on environmental costs, such as deforestation and the carbon emissions and water usage that accompany meat production. Others say it’s simply a matter of stopping the killing of animals. 

On the other hand, beyond those who say the “meat” simply isn’t meat, opponents claim that cell-based meat ignores culture and nature, causing a scientific risk that could create allergens that did not exist before. Others say that lab-grown food ignores the environmental and phytochemical benefits that come when animals feed on pasture, which leads to better flavor and nutrition. The health benefits of meat can’t be reduced to a simple combination of cells, they say.  

And finally, there’s a question of taste. Chefs who have experimented with cell-based meats, including Jose Andres and Dominique Crenn, described the consistency of one lab-grown chicken breast as grainy and slightly mushy, yet reminiscent of poultry found in certain regions of France. At a recent blind tasting conducted by SuperMeat, another cell-based meat company based in Israel, a panel sampled cell-based meat alongside traditionally raised minced chicken. The majority of the panel found the lab-grown product to be the better tasting option. 

Either way, lab-based meat is booming, and cell-based chicken may soon be available at a supermarket near you.

 Games

1. The Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Ontario, Huron, and _____
2. Beatles last names: Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and _____
3. States bordering Kansas: Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and ____
4. UN Security Council (permanent members): US, UK, China, France, and _____

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― Final Thoughts