NES ZIONA, Israel: Several Israeli start-ups have joined a handful of companies around the globe trying to develop lab-grown meat, something they see as a solution to the needs of the world’s ever-growing population and demand for food. It’s known under different names, including cultured meat, in-vitro or artificial and “clean meat” — a term advocates say underscores its environment-friendly nature. It’s basically made of animal muscle cells grown in a culture in a lab, a technology similar to stem cells. And while “synthetic steaks” are perhaps not a candidate for everyone’s favorite dish, they could someday compete with conventional chicken or beef, an affordable price tag permitting. Yaakov Nahmias, founder of Future Meat Technologies says that cultured meat consumes “10 times less water, less land, less energy than the current meat production.”