In a small laboratory in Seoul, a team of South Korean scientists are injecting cultured beef cells into individual grains of rice through a process they hope will help revolutionize how the world eats.

From fighting famine to feeding astronauts in space, team leader and professor Hong Jin-kee believes his new so-called "meaty rice" could become an ethical, eco-friendly way for people to get their protein.

No animals were harmed in the creation of the dish, which looks like regular rice aside from its pink coloring — but it gives off a faint buttery aroma, the result of being packed with beef muscle and fat cell culture.