Willem van Eelen
Willem van Eelen | |
|---|---|
 Van Eelen in 2013 | |
| Born | Willem Frederik van Eelen 4 July 1923 |
| Died | 24 February 2015 (aged 91) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Work on cultured meat |
Willem Frederik van Eelen (4 July 1923 – 24 February 2015) was a Dutch researcher and businessperson associated with the early development of cultured meat. He has been described as one of the "godfathers of cultured meat".[1][2][3]
Biography
Van Eelen was born in the Dutch East Indies on 4 July 1923, the son of a doctor.[2][4] During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. After the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Van Eelen was captured and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. According to Chase Purdy, his experiences in prisoner-of-war camps shaped his later view of cruelty and hardship.[2]
After the war, Van Eelen studied psychology at the University of Amsterdam. After attending a lecture on meat preservation, he developed the idea of growing meat in a laboratory. Van Eelen was not a vegetarian, but was concerned about the treatment of animals and said that "[g]rowing meat without inflicting pain seemed a natural solution."[5]
After graduating, Van Eelen attended medical school and contacted research scientists and biologists while trying to develop the idea. He left medical school after a tutor told him that he would need to raise money to fund the research. Van Eelen and his wife later ran restaurants and art galleries, saving spare money towards the idea.[5]
By the 1990s, with help from investors, Van Eelen had raised US$750,000. His first patent was filed in 1994, followed by several others.[2]
In 2014, Van Eelen had a stroke and was hospitalised.[2] He died in Amsterdam on 24 February 2015, aged 91. He was buried in Noordwijk.[6]
References
- ↑ Noyes, Andrew (21 December 2020). "Eat Just Makes History (Again) with Restaurant Debut of Cultured Meat". Business Wire. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Purdy, Chase (24 September 2017). "The idea for lab-grown meat was born in a prisoner-of-war camp". Quartz. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ↑ Eschner, Kat (1 December 2017). "Winston Churchill Imagined the Lab-Grown Hamburger". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ↑ Wurgaft, Benjamin Aldes (2 April 2015). "'Godfather of Cultured Meat' Willem Van Eelen Passes Away at 91". New Harvest. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- 1 2 Specter, Michael (16 May 2011). "Test-Tube Burgers". The New Yorker. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ↑ van Mensvoort, Koert (3 March 2015). "In Vitro Meat Godfather Dies at Age of 91". Next Nature Museum. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
Further reading
- Purdy, Chase (2020). "A Culinary Godfather". Billion Dollar Burger: Inside Big Tech's Race for the Future of Food. New York, New York: Penguin Randomhouse. ISBN 978-0-525-53694-9. OCLC 1121602679.
- 1923 births
- 2015 deaths
- 20th-century Dutch businesspeople
- 20th-century Dutch East Indies people
- 20th-century Dutch inventors
- Dutch people of the Dutch East Indies
- Dutch prisoners of war in World War II
- Dutch restaurateurs
- Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel of World War II
- University of Amsterdam alumni