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In vitro meat
zenff
Veteran
In vitro meat is on the rise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat
http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Main/Research1/ResearchUM/FirsteverPublicTastingOfLabgrownCulturedBeefBurger.htm
Vegetarians have a new question to answer. Will I eat meat when there is no killing of an animal involved in getting the meat on my plate?
In fact I see no moral objection against being an in vitro cannibal. Human meat is the best protein we can get.
I think we can have our food (meat or not) from the 3d printer soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing
Maybe we will live to see couples 3D-printing their children instead of going through the trouble of having sex and all the fuzz of pregnancy and giving birth.
I can see such a bright future ahead of us!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat
http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Main/Research1/ResearchUM/FirsteverPublicTastingOfLabgrownCulturedBeefBurger.htm
Vegetarians have a new question to answer. Will I eat meat when there is no killing of an animal involved in getting the meat on my plate?
In fact I see no moral objection against being an in vitro cannibal. Human meat is the best protein we can get.
I think we can have our food (meat or not) from the 3d printer soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing
Maybe we will live to see couples 3D-printing their children instead of going through the trouble of having sex and all the fuzz of pregnancy and giving birth.
I can see such a bright future ahead of us!
0
Comments
3D printers are the coolest things... They're hoping to use them on the space station where, in case of damage, they could easily manufacture new parts from a simple blueprint.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/is-this-the-end-of-meat-7765871.html
100% plant based meat substitutes are getting so good that even professional chefs are impressed (the owner of world famous restaurant El Bulli was convinced he was tasting real chicken).
But yes its delicious stuff that has been known to fool professional chefs in ' blindfold ' tests.
The roasting joints and mince are extraordinarily meat -like. The chunks make a good curry.
After posting above I googled an article which spoke about a vegan Quorn burger being trialled on the US market and realised that the situation must have changed.
Apparently some of the delay in the U.S. was a result of objections being raised by a rival company to the fact that it was marketed as a 'mushroom ' derived product, when in fact the ' mushrooms ' are tiny.
I like the small chunks and I give them a light marinade of tamari and ginger before I bake it.
I think this is another case of technology for the sake of technology. Instead of putting our research energy into solving problems we're putting it into finding another work-around while ignoring the underlying issue (too many people eating too many animals).
We tend to do things just because we can, with little thought for the long term consequences.
From the linked article:
"Cultured Beef burger represents a crucial first step in finding a sustainable alternative to meat production that’s more ethical and environmentally-friendly"
What they are trying to do is admirable. I still wouldn't eat it though.
I find the idea absolutely repulsive. A lab-grown slab of "meat" manufactured from living cells HOW many production generations back? Two? Six? Eventually and potentially HUNDREDS? Ugh! No thanks.
Not only that, you know this 'shmeat' will be loaded with all sorts of synthetic vitamins, hormones, juices and fat substitutes.
And yes, while we will be breaking away from the few "bad things" from naturally raised and grazed meat, we are also losing out on the GOOD things like flavor, fats, natural enzymes and good bacteria that helps us maintain a working immune system.
Humans are not made to live sterile and certainly not EAT sterile!
The whole idea is totally gross and I wouldn't feed that crap to a junk yard dog, never mind children or any human being! The food chain exists as a nearly perfect balance of co-operation for sustaining life. Can't humans ever just accept that and stop f*cking with it??
At the other hand if you take a closer look at what’s happening in the bio-industry that’s at least as repulsive.
I visited an experimental farm one time. They had cows with caps on their body that would open to their stomachs. They could monitor the way the food was digesting there. The smell that came from those stomachs was ...interesting.
But more to the point: the way they keep livestock is cruel and alienating in general. Not to mention the obvious cruelty of the slaughterhouse.
And I wouldn’t be too optimistic about the “natural” state of your meat. The stuff is full of hormones and added colors and flavors too. I don’t know how this is in the US, but here we can buy “biological” meat and we hope we get a relatively natural product
In the US we can buy "organic" and "free range" meats, but my understanding is that some of the terms can be misleading. At Trader Joes, someone had once put up a hand written sign explaining that their "free range" eggs meant the chickens were confined to a building instead of a cage. For a nod towards TJs though, it appeared to be written by an employee and I'm all for transparency.
But also... a little late to the game... but... Quorn!!! A meat eating friend of mine once told me his introduction to Quorn involved vegetarian tacos that he had no idea were veg to begin with. Said they were some of the best tacos he'd ever had and was truly shocked. But in general, although I do love Quorn and "meat replacements" are cool and all, I generally find them unnecessary.
Seems odd.
BUt having said that I don't quite see the link to Quorn...
Also, lab-created meat is just going to be another large corporation that has large lobbies that tell our govt that their product is completely safe and fine to eat no matter what. Hopefully if it hits the mass market they'll do us a favor and label it this time around. It'll be something they can sell for a lot of money to the people who want to feel like they are making a difference in the problems it claims to solve, and will still fail to resolve the issue of the poverty and lack of nutrition around the world because the people who could use it still won't be able to afford to buy it. It's not like they are going to spend the money they are spending to develop lab meat and then give it away.
America alone could probably solve the entirety of world hunger by simply buying ONLY what they will consume reasonably, and then donating the money they would have spent on the junk food and the stuff that goes in the trash (think of how much food at hospitals, nursing homes, schools, restaurants goes in the trash) could instead be turned into money sent to feed other people.
You mean people are being illogical by refusing GM produce but eating something so manufactured ?
I take your point , if that is your point, but I have no problem with either. GM, Quorn, bring it on.
Although I would much prefer a steak given the choice.
I don't worry about eating GM corn. I also don't worry about eating Quorn...although it doesn't appeal to me.
And, yes, give me a filet Mignon!
But I just think there are some odd feelings out there about highly processed foods, GM food, natural foods, etc., that don't always make sense. A health nut will probably rail against highly processed foods...but might be in favor of Quorn...which is a highly processed food. I just don't think it's all thought out well for some people.
I didn't know a thing about Quorn until this discussion so that's been interesting for me. Doesn't sound like something I'd eat, personally.
I try to keep my diet mostly natural. Meat, eggs and dairy from local sources and fruits and veggies, and some nuts. But I have my vices. Sweet corn being one of them. Mostly GM but too delicious for me to give up especially when we only eat it a few times a year. And cheetos. And the occasional Pepsi Throwback. But despite my vices, processed food icks me out, even pepsi and cheetos, they are just the couple things I have not worked past yet. I imagine it'll come in time as it has with other items. I often engage in a mental battle with myself. "Why are you eating cheetos? You know they are bad for you." "Yeah, but they taste good, so, oh well." The angel and devil on my shoulders influence my food more than they should
i think ill stick with kale, quinao, potatoes, beans, broccoli, tomatoes, almonds, walnuts, anything else vegetarian and non gmo.
PS I haven't got shares in the company, honest.
Sir Thomas Beecham.
For example, I think there is ample opportunity for reducing pesticides. Just recently a USA university finally found out which pesticide was causing bees to die out massively. Did you ever hear a big pesticide company say that we should revert to some less potent pesticides until we have figured out what's happening to the bees? They won't, because their primary responsibility (as they perceive it) is to their shareholders, not to their end-clients. Those companies are powerful and are to a large extent ruling our world, because we let them.
We learned a lesson about that here in Colorado 2 summers ago with the cantelopes.
Most farms are smaller. It's not that Monsanto owns farms themselves. They just make it so even "smaller" farms end up having to use their seeds and thus the rest of the products they sell because they all go hand-in-hand.
To me, a farm that is small is one that serves locally and maybe regionally. Not one that serves continentally. The average farm is only 450 (edited) acres. They have over 6000.
I understand what you are saying, but I don't think most people realize that the horrid factory farms we see and hear so much about aren't actually often corporate farms. They are family farms providing goods to corporations.
Personally, I'm not very good at being all this or all that. My diet frequently falls down on the "know better but gonna do it anyways" front. I think you'll just drive yourself crazy if you try and avoid everything bad for you without giving yourself a break once and a while.
Although Quorn is by far the best quick and easy "meat substitute" I really don't *feel* like I'm doing myself any favors when I eat it.
I worry more about salt now than almost anything in regard to nutrition. The amount of salt put in our diets through processed foods is alarming. I noticed a new protein wrap out by Hormel that has a horrible amount of salt. They even put salt in milk!