Agreed completely. I think the initial adoption would be expensive. And probably be billed as a healthy humane alternative to slaughterhouse meat. Thus, justifying the expensive price tag. But like you state, over time it would ultimately be cheaper. I will certainly miss the smell of cow farms back home if that happens during my time...
Oh, there will be cow farms around for a while yet. You're forgetting that milk is used far more than the meat
The other problem with lab-grown meat is flavour - it just doesn't really taste of anything. The flavour in a piece of meat comes from the fat and the food the animal has eaten to produce that fat. Until the labs can recreate that taste lab- (or vat-grown) meat is a non-starter. And, as Scroome pointed out, there are a whole host of other industries that rely on other animal products. I think we're probably 20-30 years away on commercially grown vat-meat, which is plenty of time to sort out the humane processing of real meat.
I'd argue that the issue of taste is somewhat more of a grey area. For example; when I moved from South Africa around 20 years ago, one of the things I noticed was that the meat in the U.K tasted far blander than the meat back home. Even now, I find that meat purchased from the big supermarkets doesn't really taste of much. It's all about what you grow up with. Another thing to note, would be that countries in the future that have extreme populations won't really take taste in to as much consideration, over getting it's people fed. It could also be said, that eventually growing a sufficient amount of fat to meat could be possible. It's only a matter of time for genetics. Who says they won't be able to simulate varying levels of fat and protein in their meat to achieve different flavouring?
But there's a difference between "bland taste" (i.e. some, but little flavour) and "no taste" (i.e. no flavour at all) - the artificial meat at the moment has absolutely no flavour whatsoever. And while you're right that supermarket meat is bland, it does at least have some flavour - you can tell chicken from pork from beef from lamb - which is something you can't do with artificial meat at the moment. As I said, I think this is all a moot point, because we are 20-30 years away from commercial-grade processes and widespread acceptance (as a guideline, the mycoprotein in Quorn was developed in the 1970s, was granted a licence in 1985 but not accepted commercially until 1994).
Since I started this tangent... my opinion is yes lab meat would be more like a subsistence food to replace things at the lowest end of the market that are already a poor quality due to animals raised in poor condition, on poor diet, etc. It may be quite bland, but hey that is what spices and marinating is for. Those who can afford it or choose to spend the extra cost will still get good quality free range meat.
As an ex veggie who use to eat quorn.... its total ****.... all of it. Im Vegan now, and have been for meany years, give Fry's stuff a go, its like healthy sex in your mouth. http://www.frysvegetarian.co.uk/ soya and tofu based foods are a lot better in every way. If frys is to pricey, you can get all sorts of different types cheap fake meats if you go into Asian import shops.
Ok another spin on things could be with lab grown meat. We will not need cows and the milk will be chemically produced to So cows will not be bread and thay will not get a chance to live ether.
If you had a to choose to live in a prison from birth where you was raped monthly, and had your children stolen from you, then as soon as you stopped been profitable was killed, or not to of lived at all, what would you choose? With the massive amount of cows around now to meet demand, its taking its toll on the environment as well literally with farts and the emissions it takes to transport the feed and land it takes up to grow the feed which would be used for human food instead which would be a large amount of starving Africa solved in it self.
Out of interest to the people who said they would eat lab grown meat, why would you not just have the Vegetarian/Vegan alternatives? As a young vegetarian (only 18 but been Vegi for 4 years), even I see how things are changing. More advertisement into vegetarian food and even more people are getting it. I would disagree with Ortis though on when he said Quorn tastes like crap - I think over the last 18/24 months, Quorn have improved big time - Especially with little things like the cocktail sausages which taste pretty fantastic (even people who are meat eaters in this house opted for them over the normal meat ones)
Seems like they are hard to get though - Apart from a small Holland and Barret, we don't have anywhere which would sell them so I guess online is the only way right? What would you recommend of the range anyway?
Chicken-style Strips, Spiced Burgers, Pepper Steak-style Pies and any of the Crumbed/battered stuff Holland and Barret are your best bet but dont have there full range, lucky i have a Holland and Barret and a few independent ones to choose from. Also i volunteer at a vegan charity catering company, and i get catering packs of stuff at cost price. Vegan fish, bacon, ice cream all at trade price! My friend has started making his own Tempe bacon.. its unreal! I have no idea if any of this is even close to the real thing as iv never eaten meat in my life but i just enjoy the taste and texture anyway. Im not looking to fill a gap with meat subs, i just like it for what it is and how i see it... Tofu and Soya protein. Greenman, Have you ever tried mock duck and chicken? its very cheap, like £1 a tin and great in noodles! http://www.vegusto.co.uk/shop/ vegusto are anther one to check out, but again.... pricey. I had there xmas roast and cheese's... recommended indeed!
I have actually had mock duck before! It is amazing! (although, I have never had duck before so I don't know if they are similar of course) But I would certainly recommend it! I will have a look at the other stuff you mentioned - I am sure they taste just as good as the real thing - Hopefully anyway, it might make more people Vegi/Vegan then
There is one simple reason that I could never go veggie: Bacon. And steak, actually... Oh, and lamb too... oh yeah, and roast beef... OK, so I lied; that's four reasons I couldn't go vegetarian! On topic somewhat, I did actually try quorn a year or two back and I am not a fan; ISTR that it required a lot more preparation than the meat we would have normally used, and the taste and consistency was just... wrong... I can't think of any other way to describe it. The vegetarian/vegan alternatives to meat products are so expensive that I simply can't justify the additional cost; neither of us have any moral or ethical objections to eating meat so it doesn't make sense to pay well over the odds. Plus on a more philosophical level, I have a big problem with things like "healthy eating" or "organic food". Not to say that I think that eating healthy food isn't a good idea, but there's an awful lot of crap and misinformation that comes with it - especially when we're talking about "organic" food. Meat, processed food and a majority of the stuff on supermarket shelves can be perfectly healthy, so long as: you know what you're eating (mandatory ingredient lists on product packaging), you take everything in moderation (RDAs and plenty of advice available) and have a balanced diet (basically: eat lots of different stuff). It's these last two points where the vast majority of people, including myself, fail utterly. I'm really not going to get into my objections with "organic" food; I don't want to derail the thread...
So you promote mass extinction of farm animals as a valid alternative? For those of you who are vegan or veggie why do you eat fake meat? It also seems rather odd to see soya based product which result in mass clearances of the rain forest as being better than farming.
Yes, just stop breading them. There body's have been so fuked with now that they cannot grow old as they will develop health problems far to early that would mean the end for them. Like with pigs, they have to be put down at animal sanctuaries after so long because there body's out grow there legs... there legs literally give out and can not get back up again. Its horrible to see. Same goes for most animals that have had there genetics messed with to make more meat faster. Its disgusting. I eat it because it taste good, is good for me, nothing comes to harm. That simple. The amount of land needed to raise animals for meat is in a total different league. You need first land to grow feed for the live stock, which means wiping out rain forests and taken starving africans land away from them. then you need to send it over to then EU which has a giant carbon footprint in it self, then the land for the live stock to grease and be stored in the EU which could be used to grow vegetation (in which you would get 100's of times more food than you would with meat) Have a scan though this: http://www.vegansociety.com/resources/environment.aspx Land is becoming so hard to find now becouse of the meat trade, cows are been put on landfill sites! http://freefromharm.org/farm-animal...aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582 @BLC, you can get fake meats very cheap... you just got to know where to look. eg: you get 2 big sacks of soya "meat" chunks for like £3 in asda. fine to pop in a curry or what ever you like.
This is a slight tangent, but how do you feel about selective breeding in domestic pets? (e.g. cats, dogs, etc) We've been selectively breeding domestic and even work animals for thousands of years now (you don't often find pet wolves these days) to produce breeds or cross-breeds with traits that are more beneficial to us, regardless of the health of the animal. Look at pedigree dog litters: many of the pups will die, but in a mongrel/mixed breed litter the pups have a much better chance of survival because of greater genetic diversity. I've asked this question of people before then immediately asked them how they felt about selectively breeding animals for meat production; most people are fine with it when it comes to pets, but abhor the idea when it comes to animals we eat. Not necessarily saying that you hold the same conflicting view, but I find it an interesting cognitive dissonance.
yeah, same. Pedigree breading should be stopped as well. No need for puppy farms and breeders at all. there are thousands of dogs that need homes in kennels and shelters now. -------------------------------- Ill also add in response to Da_Rude_Babboon about soya products. Over 90% of soy is grown to supply animal feed to the animal agriculture industries - meat and dairy. Therefore, it is much better for the rainforests and the environment for people to eat/drink soy directly than it is for them to eat meat and dairy, which has massive negative impact on the environment. To produce one pound of wheat it requires 108 gallons of water; to produce one pound of beef it requires approx. 12,000 gallons. It takes up to 13 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat. Vast quantities of the rainforest are being cleared to make more room for grazing animals and growing crops for animal feed, not for feeding vegans. If we simply ate soy and other plant foods ourselves instead of feeding them to farmed animals, we would not need to raise nearly as many crops, so more people could have food and we would not be decimating the forests. Land availability is one of the main constraints on food production, but nearly 30% of the available ice-free surface area of the planet is now used by livestock, or for growing food for those animals. One billion people go hungry every day, but livestock now consumes the majority of the world's crops. According to the United Nations, animal agriculture is also responsible for 18% of harmful greenhouse gases, which is more than the whole world's transport at 13.5%. The actual figure is likely to be higher. Other points people made... Julian Martin on the first page (and others) talk about 'good slaughterhouses' Between January 2009 and April 2011, Animal Aid filmed secretly inside nine UK slaughterhouses. Eight were breaking animal welfare laws. Abuse is the norm, not the exception. Link to Animal Aid 'humane slaughter myth' page: http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/slaughter/ALL/// People talking about animals in UK farms having a good standard of living as a general rule, are not in possession of the accurate facts. For instance, around 90% of pigs in the UK are factory farmed. Link to factory farming information: http://www.factoryfarming.org.uk/pigs.html There would be no sudden 'mass extinction' because everyone won't turn vegetarian/vegan overnight. Rather it is a basic case of supply and demand. If there is less demand then less animals will be bred. 'Farm' animals are not a species, they are domesticated versions of wild animals, that have been bred and expolited for human gain. As you say, their bodies are unnatural.
