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Artificial Meat
- Thread starter Aegle
- Start date
I think it is wonderful and I hope it can replace the real meat on the market in the future. So many resources are wasted on meat production, it is a major contributer to pollution and not to say the least unnecessary animal suffering. This artificial meat will be exactly the same as meat from real animals, after all tissue is tissue, and eating this instead of "real" meat is both ethical, nutritional and good for the environment. It is a dream come true for me if this can be done in a real, controlled and good manner.
Currently at $250,000 a burger though?
I think a many more years of R+D are required on that one.
I think a many more years of R+D are required on that one.
PrimalWisdom
Everything the light touches
I'd give it a try!
The part about the bovine/human hybrid meat to help fight allergies does freak me out, although I guess if it's grown in a test tube it's not really like eating another human.
Time will tell if this could be beneficial, but yeah that price tag is nuts.
The part about the bovine/human hybrid meat to help fight allergies does freak me out, although I guess if it's grown in a test tube it's not really like eating another human.
Time will tell if this could be beneficial, but yeah that price tag is nuts.
InneffableThings
Rising Star
I like the direction. This:
It seems likely that there will be nutrients in hamburger this will not have. And probably other issues around it. And I think by the time it becomes a real possibile thing, we will have no need for it. But I still like the direction.
creeps me out a bit.
It seems likely that there will be nutrients in hamburger this will not have. And probably other issues around it. And I think by the time it becomes a real possibile thing, we will have no need for it. But I still like the direction.
Deeply disturbing, allthough a good initiative to stop the brutality of the meat-industry.
I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm glad to see people are at least trying to change their ways
to cause less harm.
On the other hand...do we really have to grow twicthy, pulsating "hamburgers" that sell for
$250,000.- per burger? I think I'll pass
Here's another way to defie the meat-industry; Keep your own.
Keep chickens if you have a garden. Gives an abundance of eggs.
Keep Shrimps, Sardines, Tuna & Cod in aquaria in your house.
Keep sheep & goats if you have a big enough piece of land.
Give them great, free lives and you'll be blessed with eggs,
wool & great meat every once in a while.
I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm glad to see people are at least trying to change their ways
to cause less harm.
On the other hand...do we really have to grow twicthy, pulsating "hamburgers" that sell for
$250,000.- per burger? I think I'll pass
Here's another way to defie the meat-industry; Keep your own.
Keep chickens if you have a garden. Gives an abundance of eggs.
Keep Shrimps, Sardines, Tuna & Cod in aquaria in your house.
Keep sheep & goats if you have a big enough piece of land.
Give them great, free lives and you'll be blessed with eggs,
wool & great meat every once in a while.
Purges said:
They must be bonsai cod and tuna :lol:
I am all in favour of growing meat in this way and if it gets to the stage where it is commercially viable I will switch to it in an instant. I am a carnivore but it is through apathy and laziness as opposed to agreeing with the suffering imposed on the animals that make up my diet. I'd love to have some nice roast chicken without having to acknowledge that some poor bird has lead a horrific life just to end up on my dinner plate.
I asked a vegetarian relative if he would eat meat grown in a lab and he said no, he says he will never eat flesh regardless of how it is produced. not sure I understand why but that's his choice.
It would certainly help our exponentially growing world population if this technique could be made so simple that it is just a case of ordering some stem cells (harvested from an animal which lived a happy life and died peacefully) and growing yourself a ton of beef very cheaply. Seems a long way off though. Perhaps star trek style replicators will be around before then.
BananaForeskin
I Eat Plant Magic
This seems a little... wrong.... do you guys really want to eat flesh that was grown in a test tube? I mean, yeh, it could theoretically solve the whole unethical meat industry issue, but by replacing it with what? And it does give the people behind the scenes a crazy amount of control over what is going into that food-like product, the whole prospect seems direly fucked up.
It seems like it'd make much more sense to start serving everybody good falafel... we already have the technology to grow a ton of chickpeas, and chickpeas don't twitch and quiver while they're in the nutrient vat. Tastier, healthier. Problem solved, without growing bovine stem cells out of context.
It seems like it'd make much more sense to start serving everybody good falafel... we already have the technology to grow a ton of chickpeas, and chickpeas don't twitch and quiver while they're in the nutrient vat. Tastier, healthier. Problem solved, without growing bovine stem cells out of context.
Tastier?!?! These stuff are not close to meat at all. Meat rules anyday over veggies. Or should we argue about tastes now?:dBananaForeskin said:
If you want to not eat animal products at all, then do not try the artificial meat. If you eat meat and find it disgusting then just do not eat it either. It's not that they'll be shoving it down our throats.
But if it tastes like real meat you'd be sure I'll be eating it and injecting it as well!
To some of you that may think this is wrong or something, I must ask why? What is the problem with "artifical" meat from a laboratory? If this comes into big production with fair prices, then there is practically just benefits from this over usual meat. If this is coming in at full force, the meat will be no different than the usual meat we're accustomed to neither, and it is reasonable to believe that the quality of this artifical meat might be even better than regular meat, because of the amount of control one has over this process. At any rate this undoubtedly holds higher ethical standards and pollutes a hell of a lot less, and I can't see how someone could rationally resent this. Alternative meat production like this should be widely supported and betted on.
Agreed with Citta, he beat me to it as I wrote.
I cannot really understand the "ew" factor of some people regarding this. Considering artificial meat icky or unclean or suspicious reveals ignorance about the standard means of mass meat production, where the meat goes through a whole collection of unhealthy processes, often crawling with bacteria, before finally being washed with ammonia in order to make it safe for consumption. Not to mention how animals are brutalized in the vast majority of cases, and the widespread, massive, often irresponsible use of antibiotics. And no matter how much the synthetic tissues "pulsate" inside of the cultivation container, they will always pulsate less than a living animal.
I say go ahead with it. However, there's a long way until it's viable to market for a realistic price. It's not only about competing reasonably with the cost of raising animals for meat. It's defying the whole industrial web involving manufacturers of compound feeds, livestock equipment, veterinarian supplies, etc. So it won't be easy.
In any case, meat (synthetic or not) SHOULD be more expensive than it generally is. People who are not willing to become vegetarians have to realize that meat production will be only sustainable if it happens at a much lower scale, with much better conditions, and that has a price. Take it or leave it. Ignoring the fact is simply irresponsible.
I cannot really understand the "ew" factor of some people regarding this. Considering artificial meat icky or unclean or suspicious reveals ignorance about the standard means of mass meat production, where the meat goes through a whole collection of unhealthy processes, often crawling with bacteria, before finally being washed with ammonia in order to make it safe for consumption. Not to mention how animals are brutalized in the vast majority of cases, and the widespread, massive, often irresponsible use of antibiotics. And no matter how much the synthetic tissues "pulsate" inside of the cultivation container, they will always pulsate less than a living animal.
I say go ahead with it. However, there's a long way until it's viable to market for a realistic price. It's not only about competing reasonably with the cost of raising animals for meat. It's defying the whole industrial web involving manufacturers of compound feeds, livestock equipment, veterinarian supplies, etc. So it won't be easy.
In any case, meat (synthetic or not) SHOULD be more expensive than it generally is. People who are not willing to become vegetarians have to realize that meat production will be only sustainable if it happens at a much lower scale, with much better conditions, and that has a price. Take it or leave it. Ignoring the fact is simply irresponsible.
I don't think its any more "wrong" then the current situation. We could potentially grow in vitro meat that had even better nutritional make up then regular organic grass fed meats. Even tailored to suit the dietary requirements of specific individuals.
I think it's a great idea , the only problem I have is they will probably use biotechnology after a while to alter the dna in the meat to optimise growth and that could possibly have some negative implications...and they'll probably add some dodgy stuff to the meat , I don't trust any corporation with a profit motive.
I agree that this is much better than the system we have now, and the logical part of my brain cant think of anything wrong with this.. But it still gives me a creepy and weird feeling thinking about it. Just picturing huge factories or labs filled with giant slabs of twitching and convulsing flesh creeps me out..
Vodsel-I cant speak for anyone else, but for me, the 'ew' factor has nothing to do with cleanliness or the meat being unhealthy. (I dont eat meat so it doesnt really matter to me anyways) The ew/creepy factor for me is something I cant quite put my finger on, but is more of the uncertainty of what constitutes a living being, where does consciousness or the soul exist, what is the morality behind creating massive amounts of 'living flesh' to feed our gluttonous appetites etc types of thoughts.
Vodsel-I cant speak for anyone else, but for me, the 'ew' factor has nothing to do with cleanliness or the meat being unhealthy. (I dont eat meat so it doesnt really matter to me anyways) The ew/creepy factor for me is something I cant quite put my finger on, but is more of the uncertainty of what constitutes a living being, where does consciousness or the soul exist, what is the morality behind creating massive amounts of 'living flesh' to feed our gluttonous appetites etc types of thoughts.
emptymind said:
There is indeed a lot of things we don't know. But - what constitutes a living being? The plants you eat are living beings. Do plants have consciousness, or a soul? Do they feel? We don't know. Some swear they do. Then, is it "moral" to cross breed them, to harvest them, to devour them raw and alive in order to feed these gluttonous appetites? Not that we have a chance.
What we -do- know, though, is that animals suffer when raised and slaughtered in brutal conditions. We -do- know that mass animal farming is unhealthy for the planet we live in. Then, and as long as there is a real demand for animal protein, is it an improvement to produce it making a lesser impact in the environment, without breeding and slaughtering mammals that we -do- know they own a nervous system, and have at least certain degree of consciousness, and do feel? I think it quite clearly is.
Doubting the "morality" of creating muscle tissue in a lab would apply as well to genetic engineering, stem cell research, and many medical procedures. Not to mention most human activities that have an impact in the environment. IMO, there's quite a few pressing concerns that do not even require that degree of speculation in order to be real. If we could change the global mentality (and nutritional needs) for everyone to become vegetarian, and suddenly live in an absolute, respectful harmony with the planetary ecosystem, doing it would probably be a great idea. But we cannot. And as long as we cannot, I don't think we should undermine ideas that might help solve a problem. Even if we believe we are personally not contributing to it.
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