Synthetic milk is a reality and only time will tell if this test tube milk is acceptable to consumers.
It all started with margarine, and now the range of products in the dairy cabinet continues to grow.
Now, a wide range of spreads, milks cheeses and ice cream are being manufactured from sources far removed from cows eating grass.
Synthetic milk does not require animals.
It can have the same biochemical make-up as animal milk, but is grown using an emerging biotechnology technique known as "precision fermentation" that produces biomass cultured from cells.
A report in The Conservation said that more than 80 per cent of the world's population regularly consume dairy products.
It makes the questionable claim that here have been increasing calls to move beyond animal-based food systems to more sustainable forms of food production.
Well, of course the peddlers of these alternative products would say that.
Also claimed is that synthetic milks offer dairy milk without concerns such as methane emissions or animal welfare. Dairy farmers could argue this is straight out of the vegan and animal welfare lobby songbook.
Unlike synthetic meat - which does struggle to match the complexity and texture of animal meat - synthetic milk is touted as having the same taste, look and feel as normal dairy milk.
Synthetic milk is not a sci-fi fantasy; it already exists.
In the US, for example, the Perfect Day company supplies animal-free protein made from microflora, which is then used to make ice cream, protein powder and milk.
In Australia, start-up company Eden Brew has been developing synthetic milk at Werribee in Victoria.
Read more: Lab-grown milk start-up raises $25m
