The world is clamoring over a taste test that involved the world’s first test-tube burger. Growing evidence suggests that climate change threatens the survival of all species on earth, and one of the leading causes of global warming is the production of meat.

According the New York Daily News, this $330,000 burger was the first step towards creating meat without the usually inhumane and downright disgusting processes practiced on farms of all sizes, which have been documented in numerous investigative reports.

“I would say it’s close to meat. I miss the salt and pepper,” said Austrian nutritionist Hanni Ruetzler, one of the volunteer tasters. Both shunned the bun and sliced tomatoes to concentrate on the meat.

There is a lot of capitalistic excitement over this apparently tasteless frankenmeat, but, at least at these initial stages, taste is not a major factor:

“Taste is the least (important) problem since this could be controlled by letting some of the stem cells develop into fat cells,” said Stig Omholt, director of biotechnology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Adding fat to the burgers this way would probably be healthier than getting it from naturally chunky cows, Omholt said before Monday’s test. He was not involved in the project.

PETA hopes that this works out since it would hopefully make the burden on animals less severe:

“As long as there’s anybody who’s willing to kill a chicken, a cow or a pig to make their meal, we are all for this,” said Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s president and co-founder. “Instead of the millions and billions (of animals) being slaughtered now, we could just clone a few cells to make burgers or chops.”

Either way, this scientific exploration into sustainable meat production will change the food industry if researchers can make it taste like meat. Good Luck!