Meet Shmeat: The Test-Tube Meat

You heard right. Earlier this year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced that it will offer a $1 million X Prize for the creation of affordable, humane, and "commercially viable" test-tube meat by 2012. This announcement, not at all surprisingly, piqued public curiosity (for starters, why is PETA endorsing anything with the word "meat" in it?).

Found this very well written article which really helped to clarify for me the intent behind this cause and some of it's unique peculiarities.

Fascinating when you consider how easy it is for most to accept the visual of animals getting slaughtered to feed one's cravings for meat, with a opposite reaction to the idea of consuming the same but from a farm-lab. When i really think it through, i also struggle with this apparent juxtaposition within myself, that i find hard to explain in any logical/rational way.

[edit on 10-12-2008 by The All Seeing I]

Ironically, these same knuckleheads are vehemently opposed to GM crops. Their hypocracy knows no bounds.

reply to post by The All Seeing I


If it don't bleed, and I can't skin it, I don't want to eat it.

I'm telling you the God's truth. These PETA folks are nuts!

Any "meat" that is manufactured by any process is pretty friggin gross as far as I'm concerned. I'm not a huge meat eater in general, though I would probably die without chicken, but the thought of meat from a lab makes me want to vomit in anger. If you eat anything you're taking life.... that's the way it works, PETA really needs to get over themselves.

Well at least things arn't as out of control yet, as "Soylent Green"

Or are they ?

I don't take any of their "Lab" drugs... I won't be consuming pretend meat.

I bet this 'meat' would taste completely crap! Sounds like generic protein slush. I'd eat my own lips before consuming that sh1te!

IRM

Sorry I did not read the link, but anything which gets us closer to StarTrek type food is good with me. I HATE the Slaughter industry and the insane animal cruelty, the knocking down of the Rainforrests to grow GM crops starving the locals out, just to make hamburgers for Mcdonalds.

I would NEVER eat a testtube meat... Yuck!

Originally posted by antar
anything which gets us closer to StarTrek type food is good with me.

According to my Star Trek Technical Manual, (yeah I'm a nerd incognito) all the food on the Enterprise is essentially recycled Poo! It gets broken down into basic molecules and then the replicator could put it back together as a Banana Sundae... "Hold the chocolate sauce please"

Eeep! Be careful what you wish for Antar!

IRM

[edit on 11/12/08 by InfaRedMan]

Originally posted by The All Seeing I
why is PETA endorsing anything with the word "meat" in it?

probably because PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.. aaaand test tube meat would not be treating animals unethically.

make sense ? I mean it's pretty straight forward.

I've never been a huge activist or anything relating to PETA, but meat IS a very high source of all sorts of nutrients, fats, and proteins.

If it's grown like an eggplant, comprised of a superior physiology to the bacteria / pesticide / PARASITE infested foods that are abundant in foods worldwide now..
And it limits the suffering and torture that goes on, then why not?

I mean obviously you're going to have the people that freak out about EVERYTHING science does.. and they'll bring up the old "But how do you know "THEY'LL" not GMO it to the point where it kill us or changes our DNA?!!"

sure.. I'm sure some groups have thought of doing that to lower population.. etc..

But the IDEA within it'self isn't wholly without reason.
Just like a world currency isn't without reason, but the process of change towards it and deception and abuse involved in it, is something to be wary of.

Same can go for virtually ANY, more efficient and harmonious methodology of doing ANYTHING.

I think it's a good idea.
I've thought of it often.
imagine meat grown in eggs.
no nervous system.. no ability to be "concious"
just plain nutritious meat.
tastes the same if not better.. etc.. higher in nutrition.. higher in essential fatty acids.

I'm all for it.

It's just going to be a matter of whether eventually you can AFFORD the REAL good high grade test tube meat..
or the "peasant wal-mart" crap.

LAWLS

/shrug//

-

As with anything, perceptions can be changed 180 degrees. We have history books full of evidence of this. Considering what passes as food now versus what our parent were brought up on, is night and day. The closest parallel i can find to this topic, is in the vegan food market. It's amazing how far they have come in turning a soybean into a hamburger. There will always be people who will try anything and companies that will succeed in selling anything. If you went back 50 years and shared that coffee and bottle water was selling at the corner of every other block and that there was a way to order your groceries through a computer... they would give you a funny look. In sum it's just a matter of time we'll be eating from Frankenstein kitchen delivered by peapod.

Latest development:

Scientists Flesh Out Plans to Grow (and Sell) Test Tube Meat
By Alexis Madrigal 04.11.08

In five to 10 years, supermarkets might have some new products in the meat counter: packs of vat-grown meat that are cheaper to produce than livestock and have less impact on the environment.

According to a new economic analysis (.pdf) presented at this week's In Vitro Meat Symposium in Ås, Norway, meat grown in giant tanks known as bioreactors would cost between $5,200-$5,500 a ton (3,300 to 3,500 euros), which the analysis claims is cost competitive with European beef prices.

With a rising global middle class projected by the UN to double meat consumption (.pdf) by 2050, and livestock already responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gases, the symposium is drawing a variety of scientists, environmentalists and food industry experts.

source: www.wired.com...

This is no longer sci-fi... looks like this is really going to happen, especially with the world-wide push to address global warming, comes in good timing as more and more countries are broadening their plate. Most noteworthy is China with a population of 1,330,044,544 (July 2008 est.) and a economy that is growing by leaps and bounds.


[edit on 25-4-2009 by The All Seeing I]