Scientists have recently discovered a possible way to grow meat. So here’s a question: would you eat it?
I’ve been wondering if vegitarians and members of P.E.T.A. would eat it. I think if they didn’t eat meat for moral reasons, this may give them an out. (However, if they don’t eat it because they have some moral repugnance of eating meat grown in a lab, that’s a different story.)
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About shaunmiller
I have just completed a visiting position as an assistant professor at Dalhousie University. My ideas are not associated with my employer; they are expressions of my own thoughts and ideas. Some of them are just musings while others could be serious discussions that could turn into a bigger project.
Besides philosophy, I enjoy martial arts (Kuk Sool Won), playing my violin, enjoying coffee around town, and experimenting with new food.
Shaun Miller's Ideas 
Hm, what if you didn’t know? It may be the case that this stuff won’t be labeled. Instead it may be the opposite – you may have “Meat From Real Animals” certifications on some packages.
Good question. I’m guessing that labels will eventually be on “real” meat instead of grown meat being the deviation.
Well, McDonald’s recently came out with a new ad proclaiming that their meat is now “100% beef” which implies that it wasn’t pure beef before. And it’s true: a good percentage of it was made with soy and some burger joints still put soy and other products in their meat. So here’s another question: would you want to know if you’re eating pure meat, grown meat, or meat made from real animals? Assume that they all taste relatively the same and there are no health side effects.
I’d be fine with it. I eat meat for the taste, and nutritional benefits. If you can generate an alternative that is equivalent in those areas, and proven minimal in health risks (and reasonably priced) then I’d SEEK OUT the stuff over meat.
I would imagine that if this was perfected, it would be made cheaply, and thus preferred over meat made from real animals. I’m wondering if the public could get over the “gross factor.” Then again, most people don’t even realize that what they’re eating is already genetically modified or has been treated with hormones. If this meat could be produced, it would surely change the economic structure of how meat is produced: factory farms would be gone and animals would be treated with care, but the farmers and ranchers whose basic economic income comes from these resources would definitely be broke. Although it brings in many tangents like economics, commodification, and animals treatment I think over time, this will happen and as soon as the public gets over the “gross factor” we’ll eat it as if it was no big deal. Perhaps a counter-culture will emerge. Just like there are people who won’t eat things unless it’s organic, there may be people who won’t eat it unless it’s from the real animal.
How does this work anyway? Some type of stem cell deal? Or is it truly not meat?
The article is here.
Basically, they take a cell from a real animal and clone it to only form the tissues of meat. So it’s real meat, but it’s not reproduced from animals.
Man, I’d be just fine with that. Wouldn’t gross me out at all. I’ll bet they could engineer it to be perfect too. One bite of tube steak (can we call it that?) delivers 20 grams of protein, 3 grams of Omega-3 fats, no cholesterol, and all the vitamins you’ll ever need.
Shit, crank Tube Steak out!
I admit that find this better than the current situation. I’m wondering if there are any downfalls to this. If so, is growing meat worth the cons (if there are any)? Perhaps they can incorporate creatine in it somehow.