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If you love the taste of a beef burger, but hate the thought of killing animals, then you could soon be offered a guilt-free alternative.

A group of Dutch scientists has come up with a potential design for small-scale factories that deliver sustainable meat made from stem cells.

While still a concept, they have outlined a process in which the meat begins its life as a vial of cells taken from a cell bank and is later processed in a bioreactor to create minced meat.

A group of Dutch scientists has come up with a plan to create small-scale factories that deliver sustainable meat made from stem cells. The meat begins its life as a vial of cells taken from a cell bank and is later processed in a bioreactor to create a pressed cake of minced meat

The technology has already been proven on an individual scale. Last year, Mark Post, a professor of tissue engineering at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, presented the first lab-grown hamburger.

'We believe that cultured meat is part of the future,' said Cor van der Weele of Wageningen University in The Netherlands.

'It is highly effective in stimulating a growing awareness and discussion of the problems of meat production and consumption.'

Rising demand for meat around the world is unsustainable in terms of environmental pollution and energy consumption, experts claim.

The technology has already been proven on an individual scale. Last year, Mark Post, a professor of tissue engineering at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, presented the first lab-grown hamburger

A recent United Nations report concluded that a global shift toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change.

And the U.N. is not alone in its analysis. More than 50 per cent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture, according to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute.

To create culture meat, cells are exponentially grown during each stage by filling the cells with a sterile solution and cultivating them in a nutrient broth.

Next they are combined with a binding protein which allows the cells to self-organise into chunks of muscle.

The harvested cells are pressed and the cake is made into retailer-size portions of minced meat.

But there will be challenges when it comes to maintaining a continuous stem cell line and producing cultured meat that's cheaper than meat obtained in the usual way.

Most likely, the price of 'normal' meat would first have to rise considerably, Professor van der Weele.

'Cultured meat has great moral promise,' she added. 'Worries about its unnaturalness might be met through small-scale production methods that allow close contact with cell-donor animals.

'From a technological perspective, "village-scale" production is also a promising option.' 

Rising demand for meat around the world is unsustainable in terms of environmental pollution and energy consumption. More than 50 per cent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture, according to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute

'Other parts of the future are partly substituting meat with vegetarian products, keeping fewer animals in better circumstances, perhaps eating insects,' she added.

For instance, a student in Iceland has created a range of meals based on liquefied and blended insects.

The Fly Factory was designed by graduate Búi Bjarmar Aðalsteinsson and during taste tests, diners were none the wiser.

Aðalsteinsson's meals were inspired by a 2013 report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations called Edible Insects, which investigated how insects could solve food shortages.