Would You Eat Woolly Mammoth Meat? You Might Have The Chance Soon

An extinct mammal from thousands of years ago is the subject of a new food item that could find its way to market. Here’s the crazy strange tale of Woolly Mammoth meatballs.

What Happened: Australia-based Vow uses animal cells to create meat in labs. The startup, which drew interest from investors last year, is working on creating meatballs from woolly mammoths, according to a report from TechCrunch.

Vow used DNA from woolly mammoths alongside DNA from African elephants. While the meatballs are not ready for humans to eat yet, Vow could become the first company to ever create a meat product made from the DNA of the famous woolly mammoth creature.

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“We filled in any gaps in the DNA sequence of this mammoth myoglobin gene by using the genome of the African elephant, the mammoth’s closest living relative,” Vow Chief Science Officer James Ryall said.

TechCrunch notes that the Asian elephant is the mammoth’s closest living relative.

Why It’s Important: Ryall said that no animals had to die to create the mammoth meatballs, an item that could be closely watched by animal rights advocates.

Vow is one of many companies working on cultivated meat, a market that has seen strong funding from venture capital funds. Cultivated meat could see meat and fish grown in labs using animal cells.

Vow recently raised $49.2 million in a Series A funding round in November 2022. A previous $6 million funding round in 2021 came as the company was working on creating exotic meats of animals like buffalo, kangaroo and alpaca.

TechCrunch notes that the creation of the woolly mammoth meatballs could be more of a promotional attempt by Vow instead of a real product launch.

“The goal behind creating the mammoth meatball was really about starting that discussion around food, and what that decision to eat meat really means to the world at large, by bringing an extinct protein back to life,” Ryall said.

In August 2022, Benzinga reported about Colossal Biosciences, a startup seeking to bring back extinct animals like the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth. The startup counts Winklevoss Capital Management, Paris Hilton and Tony Robbins as investors.

Colossal Biosciences takes a similar approach by using DNA from woolly mammoths combined with genetic material from elephants to complete the process.

Plant-based food companies like Beyond Meat BYND have seen their products gain adoption in grocery stores and restaurants, but have a relatively small market share in the meat market.

Cultivated meat remains a big market potential to feed the growing population and cut down on carbon emissions used in the meat processing industry.

The big question is if an item like woolly mammoth meatballs would be widely accepted and food that consumers would try or is just a marketing stunt.

In “Jurassic Park,” Dr. Ian Malcom, played by Jeff Goldblum, has a memorable quote about bringing dinosaurs back to life using DNA that could be appropriately applied here.

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” Malcom said.

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