Since my post on Sugar lolz got everyone into a frenzy i figured i would also throw out this i was talking to one of my vegetarian friends ( one of the 'im veggie to save the planet' crowd ) and i asked her what she thought of meat grown artificially in a laboratory and out came the irrisposibility of playing with genes and artificially changing products ( although granted she should look at some of the ways farming and selective breeding have changed most crops ahem ) so i figured i would ask the wise o̶l̶d̶ folks on here what are their views on food / drink that came from a Laboratory as opposed to a farm. My view is 'Real' meat will always be made, but will become more expensive due to less production, and Lab grown products will likely first see an introduction into animal food, and then migrate to store shelves and could ( if priced right ) replace alot of livestock production, and in turn that land could turned over to vegetable production / turned over to housing / turned back to mother nature From what i gather its better for the Environment ( less energy used, less waste gasses / products produced ) more humane ( a couple of injections vs Slaughter of thousands of animals a day ) and due to the meat being almost all muscle tissue, it contains less fat, indeed the food critics who tried some of the first said it was 'dry' and lacking alot of the grease and juices of a 'real' burger
Muscle cells grown on collagen lattice? Count me in. I'm not vegetarian but my diet leans in that direction. Growing up, my mother, who is vegetarian would often cook meat free meals. As an adult I find myself alternating between meat and meat free alternatives. That said, I find a lot of alternatives taste bad or dry. Quorn use mycoproteins (fungus protein) which is generally okay, but some products such as their kievs or anything with a cheese sauce, the taste is earthy or off. If you could say, here's a burger; no animal died to create it, no forests were cut down for pasture and there's no wriggly parasites waiting to have a butt party in your pants. I'd say, well jolly good.
Tbh i can see this kinda of thing replacing the mechanically recovered goo they make cheap[er] meat things with. Though I kinda imagine the end product to be a bit like a meat version of a 'seafood' sick... EDIT: Yes i probably would eat it...
Agreed. I've just had to unfriend someone on FB because they insisted that the only way to eat steak is well done... As for the lab grown stuff, I imagine it would be a bit like cheap, mechanically-recovered low-fat mince - bright pink with not much flavour or texture. If they could sort out a way of adding a bit more texture and a proper beef fat flavour, then they might be on to a winner.
I work as a food buyer and have had my eyes opened with a lot of what I've dealt with but also come to respect many farmers and butchers for how they remain respectful on how they manage and produce their foods. That being said if grown meat is proven safe for human consumption and healthier I'm in, I've a few veggie friends, some more annoying than others, who would still disagree with this but if it's helping animals and the pressure on the industry to make more faster and cheaper how's it a bad thing. I personally can't be veggie, I do like meat, mostly chicken and I've tried various meat free alternates and it's not even close. I doubt we'll see such foods readily available anytime soon but here's to progress.
It was probably for the best. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life. I would sign up to lab grown meat. It's not much different from quorn*. * My biggest disappointment with quorn is that it sounds like some malevolent formless alien entity growing and plotting to take over the world, all Quatermass II-style, but is in fact a harmless soya protein meat substitute. It's probably even good for you.
I worked in an abattoir for 7 years. When they installed equipment to mechanically recover meat they made little money from it but, it was better than paying for it's disposal. The real money was further down the line on the way to near inedible sausages and pet food.
If it tastes like meat, and it's safe, I'm all for it. I suspect succulent, juicy T-bone steaks which are indistinguishable from the real thing are some way off yet, but this could bring meat to the hundreds of millions of people who can't afford to eat it in the future, as well as potentially improving conditions for animals raised for meat as it will replace industrial farming at the bottom of the meat ladder. Forgive me if I continue to only buy expensive meat products though, even if petri-dish meat becomes a thing. Not for the welfare, but for the flavour baby!
Personally, I think it's great. I'm of the opinion that meat should be treated with the love and care it deserves, however it definitely doesn't receive this at the lower end (like general fast food etc.). So this is perfect for that end, hopefully it'll be adopted well enough by the public though. On the wider picture, it sounds like it could partially solve the issue of how inherently inefficient rearing livestock is from a food production perspective. You need so many resources, not to mention the logistics involved in the waste disposal/distribution. If this lab process ends up more efficient on a large scale, then it's a great opportunity for tackling that issue. Personally, I'd probably continue buying the same sort of meat I do now. I've decided that I'd rather eat less meat overall, but ensure the meat I do eat is the best I can get hold of. For instance, I've ordered some fat ribeyes for Thursday, but am eating vegetarian for the rest of the week to counter the high cost of the steaks. Honestly I've found that my diet and cooking in general has improved significantly after choosing this method. Interesting thought, would people who are vegetarian on compassionate grounds eat a lab-grown product?
