When meat is not murder (grown in a petri dish)

[RedEarth]

When meat is not murder

Would you eat steak if it had been grown in a petri dish?

Ian Sample, science correspondent
Saturday August 13, 2005
The Guardian

It is the ultimate conundrum for vegetarians who think that meat is murder: a revolution in processed food that will see fresh meat grown from animal cells without a single cow, sheep or pig being killed.

Researchers have published details in a biotechnology journal describing a new technique which they hailed as the answer to the world's food shortage. Lumps of meat would be cultured in laboratory vats rather than carved from livestock reared on a farm.


Scientists have adapted the cutting-edge medical technique of tissue engineering, where individual cells are multiplied into whole tissues, and applied them to food production. "With a single cell, you could theoretically produce the world's annual meat supply," said Jason Matheny, an agricultural scientist at the University of Maryland.

According to researchers, meat grown in laboratories would be more environmentally friendly and could be tailored to be healthier than farm-reared meat by controlling its nutrient content and screening it for food-borne diseases.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/genes/article/0,2763,1548451,00.html

[rodeodance]

1. whow

[Vektor]

2. I'd give it a try.

Hell, I eat "Quorn."

"Meat" made from a fungus. It's GOOOOOD.

[silverweb]

5. We love Quorn!

Great stuff!

[Vektor]

6. I love the "chicken" nuggets.

Pretty damn good imitation of the real thing, I think.

[silverweb]

9. Absolutely.

We like the "tenders" best, since they're so versatile for oriental-style dishes which we make a lot of. The "roast" is about as close as you can get to the real thing and can be thin sliced for sandwiches, too.

[Vektor]

10. Roast? Like beef roast?

I will definitely try that!

[silverweb]

11. I wish!

No, it's meant to be a "turkey" roast and is very, very good. It's a little more than halfway down the page here: http://www.quorn.us/firange.htm

Which reminds me about the "naked cutlets," which are meant to be marinated like chicken breasts and even grilled, and which are totally yummy.

If there was a realistic substitute for my formerly beloved London broil, I'd be in heaven. :D

[Vektor]

12. It still sounds good.

I like turkey, so this is probably quite good!

[silverweb]

13. It really is excellent.

All of the Quorn products are terrific!

[Vektor]

14. OMG - the meatballs!

MUST HAVE.

[silverweb]

16. LOL

I totally fooled my daughter's boyfriend with those once. He knew we were vegetarians, but I lied and said I bought meat just for him.

He never knew until I told him that they weren't real meat -- and he'll never trust me again.

:evilgrin:

[Vektor]

17. The "chicken" tastes really authentic.

Those Quorn folks do a great job.

[silverweb]

19. Yes, they do a fantastic job.

I have vegan friends who won't eat Quorn, though, because it uses egg whites as a binder. Hopefully, they'll come up with a substitute for that in time.

[Vektor]

20. Oh, I didn't know that.

I think there would be quite a market for this in the vegan community if they changed that ingredient.

[silverweb]

21. Absolutely.

Just that one ingredient. Apparently, though, it's still necessary to achieve the consistency and texture that makes Quorn so terrific.

But, hey!, if they're going to be growing sides of beef in petri dishes soon, maybe cultured "egg whites" aren't far off, right?

[Vektor]

24. I'd like an order of cultured tri-tip.

Never was much of a red meat fan, but that's one cut I do like!

[fujiyama]

3. It depends

how it tastes and the possible health consequences of consuming such a thing.

[YOY]

4. I think I'll just keep eating regular meat

Just becaue I consider myself a liberal doesn't mean I have to give a damn about what PETA or ALF think.

[thoughtanarchist]

7. I was interviewed by the local newspaper...

at the mall about 8 months ago. the reporter asked if I support the genetic reproduction of a wooley mammoth. I hemmed and hawwed, ever the hopeless intellectual, unsure but considering the implications of such a move on the spot... Well, my dad was with me and I hear him speak up from over my shoulder... "Are they good to eat?"

:rofl:

[PassingFair]

8. The Space Merchants by Fredrick Pohl...

anybody ever read it? ChickenLittle, anyone?

"Written over 50 years ago, this book anticipated much of what is wrong in the world we now live in -including corporate imperialism, environmental degradation and the villification of conservationists, the replacement of humanity with two categories of people -those who sell and those who consume, the death of spiritual values and the total ascendancy of materialism. Pohl and Kornbluth have created a materialist, consumerist dystopia that ranks with Vonnegut's Player Piano (also written in the early 1950s), and anticipates books like Harry Harrison's Bill the Galactic Hero and Joseph Heller's Catch 22. And, like the latter books, it manages somehow to be funny much of the time. What a tremendous loss it was for science fiction, and literature in general, when Cyril Kornbluth died prematurely. He had the makings of another Swift, if only he could have lived another 20 years."

A GREAT book that I have never forgotten. In fact, it may be time for a re-read!

[silverweb]

18. Sounds worth looking for.

Thanks for the reference! I'll see if I can find it.

[PassingFair]

22. If you like Phillip K. Dick...

You'll like this one. Funny and disturbing all at once. The whole advertising theme is very interesting...

[silverweb]

23. Terrific.

Yes, I do like Dick's work, and based on your synopsis, I know I'll like Space Merchants. There are a number of used book stores nearby, two of which I know have extensive scifi collections. I'll definitely be checking soon.

[The Revolution]

28. I read that in high school

It was pretty good, though I don't remember a lot of the details anymore.

[Desertrose]

15. Yuk....

it just strikes me as yukky....

I'd check it out but.....doesn't sound too tempting.

[NNadir]

25. Speaking only for myself: I'd never eat it.

I used to eat meat when I was a kid, and I couldn't imagine life without it, but now it's just aesthetically grotesque, and I can't imagine life with it.

Every once in a while, I'll accidentally get slipped something with meat in it. It tastes awful and I know it right away. It tastes like something rotting, something dead, which in fact, is the case.

I really don't like foods that are "meat-like." Some people offer me that stuff to be polite, when I'm a guest and they know I am a vegetarian. I eat it to be polite, but I don't ask for second helpings.

I suspect in any case that this stuff, even if it works, will have a huge environmental and health cost.

It's not for me.

[Cicero]

26. Who's to say you only limit this to what we eat now?

After all, if your going to culture this from a few cells, you could get the cells from any animal, really.

Koala kabob?
Gorilla grinders?
Penguin pate?

...

Long pig, anyone?

Later,

[Orsino]

29. Jesus, anyone?

Cloned from cells scraped off the Shroud. Saviors. Them's good eatin'.

[cprise]

27. Question is: Does it WANT me to eat it?

HHGTTG!