In the not-too-distant future the cut of sirloin steak on your dinner plate may not be meat at all. That's the hope anyway of dedicated scientists and engineers working to create the next generation of meat alternatives. The dream is that using clever blends of plant compounds or perhaps cultured tissue, food companies will be able to create meat-like products that are so convincing, diners will choose them over the real thing. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak with some of those leading the way in the emerging alternative meat field to find answers to some of the biggest questions about these high tech meat substitutes, including: how are they made? How real do they taste? And why do some consider them a key tool in the fight against global warming? 

Guests:

• Bruce Friedrich, the executive director of the Good Food Institute
• David Lipman, the chief science officer for Impossible Foods
• Dr. Ricardo San Martin, research director for the Alternative Meats Lab at the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at UC Berkeley

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi