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Can People Have Meat and a Planet, Too?

dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com — The world has seen the first international conference on manufacturing meat. This is the process, tested so far only at laboratory scale, of growing pork, chicken, or beef through cell culture in vats instead of raising and slaughtering animals.

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  • Poetheunclothed, on 04/12/2008, -4/+148But then I won't be able to taste its soul
    • mentallyinhell, on 04/12/2008, -7/+39And murder tastes damn good too.
    • ToadLeg, on 04/12/2008, -3/+7If we stop subsidizing farmers to stop growing food, then yes, we can have meat and a planet too.
    • AZNL473ncy, on 04/12/2008, -0/+11SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!
    • TomJoad, on 04/13/2008, -10/+4i'm vegan and i loled
    • Vosona, on 04/13/2008, -0/+0Or eat its delicious but meager knowledge.
    • jabberwolf, on 04/14/2008, -0/+1There will never be a worry about running out of meat.
      There will always be SOILENT GREEN !!!
      • CSHYDRASHOK, on 04/14/2008, -0/+1i was going to say something about soilent green too. I'll have to wait for the next article on the subject
  • mentallyinhell, on 04/12/2008, -5/+36I can't even begin to predict the vegetarian reaction to this.
    • BrainInAJar, on 04/12/2008, -10/+76I'm a vegetarian.

      If they can make cruelty free meat, I'm all over that like a redneck at a steakhouse
      • cerealjynx, on 04/12/2008, -4/+24Same.
      • RHA0, on 04/12/2008, -19/+55The cruelty is what makes it taste good.
        • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -2/+3it's funny if so many people didn't take you seriously...
          • stabbingkittens, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1You would be the only one.
          • Blandyman, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1I find meat abso-*****-lutely delicious, but I don't think it's nice to be cruel to the animals.

            On the other hand, I know if we raised our own cows/pigs at home and then killed them, the process would be slower, less-sanitary (not to say that the meat-packing industry is devoid of problems, but you catch my drift) and in the end would be more expensive.

            I had to argue this in my debate class. I was assigned to be "against" the meat-packing industry, but I couldn't ***** my way through it, because I hate lying. So I said what I felt was right.

            I got an A :-D
      • skidooer, on 04/12/2008, -19/+9We can have an animal that lives a great life until it's time comes to become meat. Or we can raise the meat that has no life at all. To me, it sounds like the latter is more cruel by depriving an animal of it's life. Wouldn't you rather become meat when you die instead of never having the chance to live at all?
        • alittleroy101, on 04/12/2008, -6/+11NO
        • Mooshee, on 04/13/2008, -5/+1Yeah, and murderers should kill their kids instead of killing other people! Because those kids got a chance to live, even if they WERE just conceived to be used as toys.
        • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -1/+4You make some intere...

          wait..

          HUH?
        • Blandyman, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2skidooer:

          Understand, that by doing this they won't kill all living cows and just grow the beef this way. This would allow some cows to live in open places, making young on their own and living fulfilling lives as the white and black bastards they are. Maybe just giving milk for all of eternity, and then once they don't produce anymore, they can be allowed to roam free for the last few years of their lives.

          Sounds like a better plan than "no more milk? -STAB- YOU ARE A BURGER!"
          • skidooer, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1I take it that you have never actually been on a dairy farm? First, the cow would never leave the farm on her own accord. If you forced her to leave to live in the wild, she wouldn't last long. Diary cows are extremely fragile creatures.
      • TrevorBradley, on 04/13/2008, -0/+6"I can't believe it's not Cow" will be the greatest investment those against cruelty to animals could ever make.

        It'll probably be cheaper too.
      • kineticarl, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2I'm vegetarian too. If they can make meat without all the pollution and ***** and water consumption and land destruction that goes with it, eh, I probably still won't eat it. I'm not looking for an excuse to eat it again, really. life is absolutely perfect without it.
      • brutalsponge, on 04/13/2008, -1/+1What about the cruelty to the plants you eat? Less hypocrisy please, hippy scum.
        • angryredplanet, on 04/14/2008, -0/+1Plants, as far as modern biology knows, are not sentient creatures. They don't have a nervous system or brain. With that said, plants play a critical role in all Earth based ecosystems.
    • bunit03057, on 04/12/2008, -3/+26I'm a vegetarian.
      My main issue is with factory farming, the use of growth hormones and antibiotics,
      all used to keep the animals alive. I assume this will do away with the need for that.
      So I'm for it.
      • bitterbug, on 04/12/2008, -2/+21It will do away with the need for the animals too. Once the meat is all grown in labs cows and chickens will be virtually extinct, except for the few holdbacks who try to do it the "old-fashioned" way and end up being attacked by radicals.

        I'm not saying that vegetarians or vegans are all radicals, but once only a small number of hobby farms exist, they'll be much easier to organize against by the ones that do have radical views.
        • sephiroth965, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3Yeah, I think natural selection would have killed off cows & chickens a long time ago If they weren't bread for meat. Oh wait no, that makes no sense because you're forgetting they are also bred for milk & eggs.
        • Butterfly9, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1You don't really need to pesky to the people who like to live small i like Organic a lot.
          Then again Synthetic food if done right can really help a lot of people.
        • pineutrino, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2sephiroth965: It won't be long before milk and eggs can be made artificially as well.
      • skidooer, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1I can see that some demand for "real" meat will remain. Meaning that only those who factory farm as you describe will be able to survive as the market shrinks.

        Also, unless things are different in your part of the world, I think you overestimate the number of farms that operate in that manner. There was only one farm that I would consider a factory farm around here and they're no longer in business. Not to mention that growth hormone is illegal here.
      • forkqueue, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1That's funny, I'm very much an omnivore, and I also have a very strong problem with animal cruelty, the use of growth hormones and antibiotics.
        Is organicly produced meat not available in your country?

    • diggSJaustin, on 04/12/2008, -5/+10Yeah, if it can stop this kind of thing: http://www.chooseveg.com/meet-your-meat.asp (video), I'm sure they'll be in favor of it.
      • sgtpppr, on 04/12/2008, -6/+13I love the 'appeal to emotion' anti-meat videos that are meant to prove meat is bad by shocking the viewer with gross imagery. I'm going to start a campaign to stop all pooping by showing someone taking a big steamer with a close-up on the butthole during the business. If it's shocking and gross, it MUST be 'morally wrong'.

        I love animals because we are animals. Animals kill other animals for food. i know it's somehow comforting to believe we are not 'of nature' like Christians believe, but we are. Go watch video of a crocodile picking off an antelope drinking out of a lake in Africa and then complain to the crocodiles that they should be eatting overpriced Tofu from Trader Joe's.
        • andyrunner, on 04/12/2008, -8/+4Have you realized that people are not crocodiles? We are biologically herbivores (ever see a chimp eat meat?). Maybe you should go rip your teeth into a live chicken and let me know how your meal went.
          • sgtpppr, on 04/12/2008, -1/+17That's completely untrue. Chimpanzees are extremely violent and are the only primate that actually cannibalize each other. I think you need to get your facts straight. Chimpanzees are also the only primate they have studied that engage in primitive warfare in large packs.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_troglodytes

            "Although omnivorous, its diet is mainly vegetarian, consisting of fruits, leaves, nuts, seeds, tubers, and other miscellaneous vegetation, supplemented by insects and small prey. There are also instances of organized hunting; in some cases, such as the killing of Leopard cubs, this primarily seems to be a protective effort, since the Leopard is the main natural predator of the Common Chimpanzee. However, the Common Chimpanzee sometimes band together and hunt Western Red Colobus Monkeys (Piliocolobus badius) for meat. Isolated cases of cannibalism have been documented. Chimpanzees have also been known on rare occasions to attack and eat human infants.[4]

            The West African Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) is the only animal besides humans known to routinely create and use specialized tools specifically for hunting. Chimpanzees near Kédougou, Senegal were observed to create spears by breaking off tree limbs, stripping them of their bark, and sharpening one end with their teeth. They then used these weapons to kill galagos sleeping in hollows."

            Chimpanzees are seriously not to be screwed with. Go look up the 'private chimpanzee zoo' incident where that guy almost died when chimps attacked him and tore off his nose, one of his hands, and chunks of various other parts.
          • sgtpppr, on 04/13/2008, -1/+5Another one for you to look at:

            http://www.lessonsforhope.org/abc/show_description ...

            "Dr. Jane's once peaceful-seeming chimpanzees were heavily engaged in what amounted to a sort of primitive warfare during the years of 1974-1977. It had begun when the chimpanzee community began to divide. Seven adult males and three mothers and their offspring began spending longer and longer periods of time in the southern part of the range over which the whole community roamed. By 1972, it was obvious that these chimpanzees had formed an entirely new and separate community, which became known as Kahama. When males of the two communities encountered one another in the overlapping zone between the two, they threatened one another in a typical territorial behavior. However, a series of deadly brutal attacks perpetrated by the powerful Kasekela community on individuals of the Kahama community followed. It was known as the Four-Year War at Gombe."

            "There are still living groups of indigenous peoples whose form of warfare is not so different from that of the Four-Year War of the Gombe chimpanzees-where the raiding parties creep into the territory of the next village to kill and plunder."

            Though, you are right about humans being close relatives of chimpanzees. We still struggle with the need to dominate others, impose control, and kill each other.
          • stabbingkittens, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1We have bicuspids and canines and a digestive system that is less complex than herbivores, meaning we are omnivores.
            You may be confusing your specie with Australopithecus bosei, the herbivore, although that hominid died out about 1.3 million years ago.
        • andyrunner, on 04/13/2008, -7/+2Did I say chimps were friendly little kittens? and so what if they eat bugs? that's hardly what the subject is about. Your quick wikipedia post proves my point exactly
          • sgtpppr, on 04/13/2008, -1/+9No, you said we are herbivores biologically and tried to prove it by saying we are close relatives of chimps and they don't eat meat...which is completely untrue. They are omnivores (meaning they eat both plants and animals) that have very similar eating habits to humans. There are primates that are herbivores, but it's certainly not the common chimpanzee. The whole 'try to kill a chicken with just your teeth' line is just irrelevant. Humans have unlearned many things from nature. Most humans would die if left in the woods with no food, tools, or clothes for a month. Doesn't mean we're not animals, omnivores, or pretty much anything except 'no longer suited for living in the wild'. If I dumped a rhino in downtown New York, I'm pretty sure it would die. You're just proving if you take an animal out of it's current environment it will have a hard time surviving...which is pretty obvious and not debated.
          • Axeman20, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1andyrunner, you just got PWNED. MASSIVELY.
        • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -3/+1ah no...

          there are lots of herbivores and vegetarian creatures that don't claim to be "not of nature"

          the video is shocking because - wait for it - it depicts shocking content...
          if you did a ***** it wouldn't be shocking... if you can think of something you could show that WOULD be shocking, you're right, it probably WOULD shock precisely BECAUSE it is morally reprehensible...

          noone cares if you take a photo of your *****... you're off the ball with this subject by a long shot...
        • Junior612, on 04/13/2008, -2/+0Uh, that's called 2 girls 1 cup.
        • Tetraca, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Better yet, let's genetically engineer plants that spew a blood-like substance and scream, then make a video of them going through a harvester.
      • MuletTheGreat, on 04/13/2008, -1/+3Wow, these are just a few badly run farms/ slaughter houses. Globaly. How many of these are actually in my area? That being Australia or america for most of you?
        How do I know that By going vegetarian i am actally stopping this? Or am I just damaging the buisness of a real, honest farmer who follows the rules and is going bankrupt because some ***** greeny found a video from ***** mexico or indonesia and posted it as propaganda?

        ***** your noise and your *****. I want real locations. Not just a few bad apples in a global scale.
    • Artimusbill, on 04/12/2008, -1/+2Somehow I doubt this will eliminate that type of tampering, it would just take a different form. I don't know if I, or anyone else is ready for a completely genetically engineered meal. George Jetson may love it, but I think I will pass.
    • Ozzsanity, on 04/12/2008, -8/+11As a veghead I am not sure if I could even eat meat if it did not kill an animal. The thought of eating meat just grosses me out at this point in my life.
      • mike17032, on 04/13/2008, -10/+20Have you ever sat down and tried to figure out where you went wrong in life?
      • sgtpppr, on 04/13/2008, -5/+7After seeing 2girls1cup I never want to poop again, but instead I just don't sit and dwell on it all day. Have you considered Lithium?
      • Mooshee, on 04/13/2008, -3/+7I don't know if I would, either. After avoiding it for so long, It grosses me out too.
      • JulyZerg, on 04/13/2008, -3/+3Then it sounds like you have some sort of phobia...
    • mike17032, on 04/13/2008, -10/+2Without the murder, it just wont taste the same.
      • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -0/+5very original... 5 stars
      • stabbingkittens, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3Shock and awe.
        Wait, that was the effect of the nine posters above you.
    • 35263526, on 04/13/2008, -0/+8I'm a veggie who converted later in life and I hope that this comes to fruition within my lifetime. No amount of quorn can replicate a steak.
      • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -0/+4I'm a veggie too, but i would still welcome an ethical steak back onto my plate...
        • moletimer, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1As a veggie, I would kill to eat bacon again....oh, maybe I wouldn't. But I do miss bacon.
    • ell0bo, on 04/13/2008, -3/+3Am I the only person that's been sitting in a field, had a bull walk over, and looked him to say " I'm going to eat your cousin tonight, and he's going to be delicious"? Maybe it goes along how I call all bulls t-bone and all lambs lambchops. Maybe I'm a horrible person
      • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -6/+6maybe it shows how desensitised and discompassionate we've become as a species.

        don't digg me down - just consider it for a moment
        • sgtpppr, on 04/14/2008, -0/+2No, it's the complete opposite. For the first time in history, people no longer have to be involved with the hunting/farming, slaughter, and preparation of their food. It's only shocking because people aren't used to it. Open heart surgery is pretty shocking on video to a lot of people, but only because it's something very different from what you're used to seeing. Is that unethical/immoral?

          If you honestly think people are more barbaric now than 1000 years ago, you seriously need to study some history. You realize not even 2000 years ago the Romans were crucifying thousands upon thousands a people yearly without mercy to keep people in line. There are also documents of them killing in excess of 10,000 animals over the course of 'games' for entertainment in the Colosseum.

          People attribute anything that is 'different' to being 'wrong'. Just because you get a 'bad feeling' from something doesn't mean there is some universal morality telling you it's wrong.
        • Sinai, on 04/14/2008, -0/+1If it makes you happy, I thought about it for a moment, maybe even two moments before I dug you down.
    • HeroreV, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3I'm not going to stop eating meat, but if I had a choice between cultured meat and meat that comes from living animals, I'd definitely prefer to go with the cultured meat (assuming no major differences in cost or quality). What vegetarian wouldn't be excited about that? This is the best bet vegetarians have for reducing the consumption of meat from living animals.
      • stabbingkittens, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2I've always hoped for this. It is an absolutely fantastic idea that has so many benefits outside of morality. We could all eat the flesh of endangered animals, for example, and not feel bad for it! Who's up for some blue whale, with a side of Bald Eagle and a little Panda sauce?
    • SharkyTech, on 04/13/2008, -1/+4The majority of vegetarians I know don't eat meat for reasons unrelated to ethical issues. They don't eat red meat for health issues (it is quite bad for you) and because of the digestivity of red meat and it generally makes them feel unwell. I think you would find that many vegetarians are the same, the moral righteousness is just a bonus for them.
      • brutalsponge, on 04/13/2008, -3/+2Actually, lean red meat can be good for you.
  • macwac, on 04/12/2008, -13/+6Frightening yet captivating.. in other words they will grow huge lumps of muscles - but wouldn't that need an immune system to keep bacteria away? a heart and blood vessels to transport blood? kidneys and liver to process blood etc..? bladder to urinate that out? bones to produce white blood cells? I guess a cow without a brain in other words?
    • cerealjynx, on 04/12/2008, -1/+14Nah, more like a robo-cow. And you can bet your ass there'll be lasers.
      • RogueMountie, on 04/13/2008, -1/+0Everything's better with lasers!
    • belowir, on 04/12/2008, -0/+3I don't know the answer to all those questions, but there are able to 'grow' a human heart without those problems, so there must be a way...it may have to do with growing it in a super clean germ-free environment but I don't know
      • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3"human heart (tm) it's what's for dinner!"
    • EmperorAwesome, on 04/12/2008, -1/+2What's the point of bloodless meat?
      • bizkit00, on 04/12/2008, -0/+5steaks need blood, but they arent going to be making steaks. ground beef for your cheap deep-fried taco bel taco, doesn't need blood.
      • bitcloud, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1I'm sure they're taking that into account
      • Sinai, on 04/14/2008, -0/+1If anything, blood cells are easier to produce artificially than muscle cells. Not a problem.
    • trispear, on 04/12/2008, -1/+14"I guess a cow without a brain in other words?"

      Paris Hilton 20 years from now?
    • theaceoffire, on 04/12/2008, -0/+4UT3 has predicted this!
      The world should prepare for the Meat Cube!
      http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bcj3jhtBD4Q
    • JulyZerg, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1None of those things make sense. Why would they need an immune system? I'd sure like to hope that my food's being handled in a sanitary environment, tyvm.
      As for blood and a bladder... again, why? People don't eat it, so they won't make it.
      I think you completely misunderstand.
    • jabberwolf, on 04/14/2008, -0/+2Wouldnt this be a boneless chicken farm??
    • jinchoung, on 04/14/2008, -0/+0mmmmmmmm.... boneless chicken.... aaaaaauuuuuuugggggghhhhh.....
  • synystar, on 04/12/2008, -11/+14Growing meat in vats? No. I'll just become a vegetarian. Yech.
    • amanilaenvelope, on 04/12/2008, -6/+2internet high-five !! *slap*
    • insomniac8400, on 04/12/2008, -3/+14Why is this odd? Imagine all the synthetic chemicals you drink and eat daily. This is actually a natural food.
    • sgtpppr, on 04/12/2008, -1/+8The irony here of course is that people will think this is horrible, yet consume huge amounts of chemicals made in a lab daily. If it wasn't for creating many of these things in labs, we'd be even more of a strain on the environment. Even the 'natural colors and flavors' and formulated in a lab from many different 'natural sources'.
      • SharkyTech, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2NATURAL RED IS CRUSHED BUGS! Seriously, look it up.
    • mike17032, on 04/13/2008, -2/+3***** it, I will try it. As long as its at least as good as the sweet sweet murdered kind I dont care.

      Chances are it wont be.
    • TrevorBradley, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2In 50 years, there may not be much choice. Grain will be far too expensive and rare to feed it to real cows.

      (This is coming from an omnivore...)
      • SharkyTech, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1What are you talking about, in 20 years the singularity will occur and any problems with agriculture will soon be solved.
    • iFrikkenR, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2No, this is awesome!

      think about it; every steak is perfect, 2 inches thick and juicy as hell. Forget veal - this ***** has never moved an inch in its non-existant life. The meat will be so perfectly tender you could cut it with the back of a spoon. You'll even be able to eat it completely raw without the slightest chance of worms or food poisoning.

      It'll be meatlicious!
  • kru1e, on 04/12/2008, -3/+10good thing thats not really creepy...
  • brokenspatula, on 04/12/2008, -15/+68don't we already have a planet and meat?
    • fquednau, on 04/12/2008, -22/+13Nope. Our meat greed is killing this planet. There's enough literature out there. Start with water usage in animal farming.
      • wc3452, on 04/12/2008, -16/+13yep, because plants don't need water. Nope, none at all.
        • thesonofdarwin, on 04/12/2008, -10/+10Were you born stupid or is this how you turned out from your upbringing? If it's the former we can feel pity and if it's the latter we can mock, so please clarify.
        • deMonkey, on 04/12/2008, -2/+7I don't agree that our meat greed is killing our planet, but meat requires a hell of a lot more water than plants. This is because for every pound of meat it takes something like 50 pounds of vegetation, so all that must be grown and fed to animals to fatten them up. Then you've got to give water to the animals, too. I'll stay out of this post, but that's what was meant about water usage in animal farming -- it's definitely a waste of energy/land when compared with plant farming.
      • insomniac8400, on 04/12/2008, -13/+5Fquednau, you need to move to san francisco and huff your own farts. Nothing short of that will make you happy.
      • 4Prophecy, on 04/12/2008, -3/+15Sorry, meant to dig you up. Meat pollution really is a HUGE hazard and waste of resources.
      • latinjones, on 04/12/2008, -12/+4You're made of meat and your mom drank a lot of water. Let's calculate the amount of energy it took to produce you, fquednau, and then determine if you're worth the cost to the earth. My guess, armchair environmentalist, is no.
      • mike17032, on 04/13/2008, -2/+3Good thing our water supply is ***** inexaustable then. We have the ability to filter any damn thing we need to from water, its all a matter of cost.
      • bingobongony, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3Yeah, because there is MUCH less wter on this planet than there was before humans.
    • sgtpppr, on 04/12/2008, -1/+11The problem is overpopulation is killing the planet, but no one wants to touch on the taboo of regulating population growth. Instead, we spend all of our time and effort trying to find ways to very slightly slow the impact of the overpopulation. it's like ***** in the corner of your room daily and putting some newspaper over it, spraying some air freshner and trying to ignore it for a little while longer. Even if you create all human food in a lab that has no effect on the environment (which is pretty much impossible), it still does not address the core problem and only gives us a very small amount of extra time before we go extinct.
      • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -3/+2It'll do more then just that; it'll save lives of innocent animals.
      • IllBeBack, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3Nature will take care of overpopulation all by itself.
        • sgtpppr, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3I agree. The planet will eventually just recycle everything on it and start over. With animals, overpopulation leads to severe fighting, starvation, and disease.
        • stabbingkittens, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2Otherwise she should enlist the support of Chuck Norris.
      • expo1001, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1No doubt that our population will one day crash, any biology student can tell you that, however, I seriously doubt we'll go extinct due to overpopulation. We're too smart and adaptable for that.
      • SharkyTech, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1It's so stupid about how all these idiot bitch about GM food, and then do the panic because food production isn't growing fast enough. The news reports are saying things like: "There hasn't been any great improvement in farming techniques for the last however many years", but there has, its just no-one will let anyone use GM to its full potential because of misguided fears.
    • Kytro, on 04/13/2008, -2/+3Overpopulation is not really a big problem yet. We have the technical capacity to feed everyone, and food productio capcity is keeping up with population growth
      • TrevorBradley, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3True that, but we can't feed them all meat right now, or give them all a western lifestyle.
  • redcolumbine, on 04/12/2008, -2/+13If they can get it to work, I'll try it. So long as it's done here and not in China. This will require some kicker industry standards that are actually adhered to, double-checked, and enforced. But I sure wouldn't mind having this option if it were safe.
  • BrainInAJar, on 04/12/2008, -0/+13...waiting for them to grow human meat in a vat, for human consumption...
    • ReDoEr, on 04/12/2008, -0/+3Soylent Green is PEOPLE?!??!?!
      • wushin, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Soylent Green has to taste like a pork cracker. Kinda like chicken in a biscuit, but pork in a biscuit.
    • grantmoore3d, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3Until then, you can just give HuFu a try... *shudders*
    • gorgalor, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2Can we feed the fake human meat to tigers and lions, and then unleash them - with a taste for human flesh - on our enemies?
  • KodomoNoJikan, on 04/12/2008, -2/+49More importantly, can people have a planet that is made out of meat?
    • bagboyrebel, on 04/12/2008, -0/+14it's called heaven, or at least it should be.
    • serif69, on 04/12/2008, -0/+7I'd be a construction worker and dig foundations. My tools would be a blowtorch, salt, pepper, some cayenne, a knife, and a fork.
    • cocoabear, on 04/13/2008, -4/+1Soylent Blue is PLANET!!!
    • boner79, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1If the planet were made of spare ribs, would ya eat it? I know I would. Heck, I'd have seconds!
  • scy1192, on 04/12/2008, -1/+2wow, look at all those comments... takes up at least 90% of the page
  • PaganHeathen, on 04/12/2008, -0/+16Mmmm can I have another one of those petri-tenderloin steaks please? It is the only cultured way to eat.
  • Hetman, on 04/12/2008, -1/+7It seems kind of disgusting. But if it is safe and taste the same it would make sense to do it. Especially if it is cheaper or faster.
    • MehYam, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2Disgusting? Seems more disgusting to me to eat the real thing - I mean, think about the process there. Think about the feces!
  • logpony, on 04/12/2008, -2/+5It'll happen. Anyone remember Neuromancer? Real steaks will be 3-star food once we get synthetics...
    • bizkit00, on 04/12/2008, -0/+1and i can eat it with my robotic bar tending arm!
    • bingobongony, on 04/13/2008, -3/+2I love that...anyone remember a fictional book? Let's apply it to reality
  • kd1s, on 04/12/2008, -0/+5Reminds me of an episode of Torchwood. The mystery meat was coming from this humungous creature.
    But culturing meat could allow some food flexibility.
  • Korvaras, on 04/12/2008, -0/+4Chickibobs.

    Reminds me of Oryx and Crake.
  • Stevo23, on 04/12/2008, -11/+12This is such a good idea. The vegans will be pissed off if they can't feel morally superior anymore, though.
    • johnpaul191, on 04/12/2008, -5/+11I still wouldn't eat it. There are many many reasons somebody is vegan.
      • mike17032, on 04/13/2008, -9/+9None of them good.
      • sgtpppr, on 04/13/2008, -5/+6Like having a category to put yourself in so you can claim a pre-defined identity. I don't care what you eat, but why do you feel it necessary to class yourself as some sub-culture?
      • stabbingkittens, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2Why do you people care what identity someone associates with? I'm sure you all have a hundred classifications for your own lifestyles -music, politics, religion, recreation - and veganism is just another. I am always amazed, but not surprised, about how people take offense that I am a vegetarian. It just means more meat for the rest of you.
        • Frostek, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3A vegetarian called "stabbingkittens". At least eat your kills! ;-)
    • Ozzsanity, on 04/12/2008, -2/+7I sure as hell don't feel morally superior because I am a vegetarian.
      • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -2/+4I agree. I feel like a minority. And I would love to be able to eat meat again without causing harm/pain to another living creature (but if the grown meat had a nervous system and brain then I still wouldn't eat it).
      • Mooshee, on 04/13/2008, -3/+1Me either. Although you know, watching some guy get halfway to an orgasm when he gets a hold of bacon is kinda degrading to him.
  • ChewieNine, on 04/12/2008, -5/+0I am not interested. Ew.
    • bizkit00, on 04/12/2008, -2/+5to all the people saying ew, have you ever bled a cow from the neck or twisted a chicken's head off and then plucked it? why dont you just go back to your old 'i dont care where it came from if i didnt have to kill it' view and let the environment breath a little easier...
    • logpony, on 04/12/2008, -0/+3bizkit is right. I haven't ever killed a cow but I've gutted a deer, and it's not pretty. I think a lot of people would give up meat if they had to do it themselves.
      • stabbingkittens, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Anyone seen Freddy got Fingered?
        'Get inside the animals.'
  • roflcopters, on 04/12/2008, -0/+5Eventually the price of cultured meat will fall well below that of normal meat, thus lowering the price of food.
    • ZenMojo, on 04/12/2008, -0/+1Or just raising the price of normal meat.
    • johnpaul191, on 04/12/2008, -1/+5The point is that it takes at least 10 lbs of grain to raise one pound of meat, and i forget how much fresh water. Then add all the waste from cows polluting the water supply as well as the antibiotics etc the cows excrete, the fuel and resources used in the production of that meat, refrigeration to keep it from spoiling, bla bla bla. All animal cruelty reasons aside, when you do the math on how many people will inhabit this planet in the future, it's just not going to work out. Even the United States imports a huge percentage of the beef that is consumed here. It's not an easy to find statistic, but tons and tons is imported from places like Brazil. I don't know how much of that is based on price, but it's the reality today. Something has to change, and these people are betting that most people will not just go vegetarian.
    • bobartig, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1The problem is that pretty much everything that we've done to produce food cheaper over the past 50 years has made it taste worse. Pigs are bred so lean that pork has lost a lot of its flavor in this country. Corn-fed beef has less flavor than grass-fed (most people don't even know what that tastes like - I don't). So some day we'll have our vat grown meats that are substantially cheaper than animal sourced meats, but my expectation is that it'll taste (relatively) terrible.
  • Dealjobber, on 04/12/2008, -2/+2I hope they can get some cultures going on some tasty endangered species.

    I'd love to have a nice buffalo steak (hey, they must have tasted pretty damn good if we killed them off that fast)
  • uberdilly, on 04/12/2008, -5/+17Meet your meat:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4
    • Vaeduus, on 04/12/2008, -13/+6That is awesome. I wouldn't have my meat any other way.
      • uberdilly, on 04/12/2008, -4/+10are you proud to demonstrate your lack of ethical faculties?
        • sgtpppr, on 04/12/2008, -8/+6Are you proud to use shock tactics to try and force your morality down everyone else's throats? http://youtube.com/watch?v=YVjh02RmMnc Would I be 'allowed' to eat meat if I grabbed a cow by the throat with my teeth and clamped down until it stopped kicking?
          • uberdilly, on 04/13/2008, -1/+6Nice video. It's unfortunate you miss the point. To equate factory farming with a jaguar hunting for food in mother nature is simplistic at best. Our nest of rational faculties and the ability to understand the concept of suffering sets us apart from other animals. Killing prey is a matter of life and death for that jaguar. What was demonstrated in the video you probably did not watch is not necessary to ours. Faced with the realization that the meat industry is driving our planet into a methane and co2 filled hell as well as being riddled with animal cruelty I think going meat free is the right thing to do. With that said, I am not a militant vegan. I certainly find permiculture environments and humane slaughter farms to be acceptable. This video gave me a profound outlook on a world that most people tend to never look into because it is hard to watch but I think it is important for people to see. After all knowledge is power right?
        • BOFH2, on 04/12/2008, -5/+2People are omnivores. If you choose to eat just vegetables fine, that is not his/her choice. His/her choice of words is the problem.
    • Kytro, on 04/13/2008, -8/+2I could care less what happens happens to animals, they are not sapiant
      • imacoder, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Sentience is a given whereas sapiancy would really be up to its peers.
    • grantmoore3d, on 04/13/2008, -0/+5While I don't sypmathize with PETA productions at all, because most farms aren't as bad as what they show... I wish more people would take personal responsibility for their food (ie: grow it themselves, or hunt animals...whatever your choice).
      • gonegirlgone, on 04/13/2008, -4/+1how do you know that most farms aren't as bad as what they show? have you experienced them? isnt it bad enough that animals are being slaughtered for your dinner?
    • ScorpioPT, on 04/13/2008, -1/+1Sometimes people make me sick
    • bingobongony, on 04/13/2008, -2/+2The second I heard Alec Baldwin's vice, I gave up.
    • mikesbaker, on 04/13/2008, -2/+2People Eating Tasty Animals
  • Nhmarine, on 04/12/2008, -15/+3I support the killing of cows.... and I dont support the growth of cow cells for my burgers. This would be similar to abortion in that the fetus is merely a collection of cells, yet it has the importance to have its "murder" protested, yet these genetically engineered lumps of cow cells would still be living (and I bet no one would protest their death, but support it since a satient being is not being slaughtered, lmao, and yet abortion protests would still rage) Second, if we let these dumb brutes (cows) live... well, nature would take its course in eliminating them anyways.... Think, cows on the highways, cows being eaten by other wild animals, cows endangering us like deer on the highway, except they weigh about a ton more... Thirdly this process of genetic engineering would no doubt be more expensive, be more time consuming, and I would rather have some millions of domestically breeded cows die than have the price of my burger inflate.....
    • makkaveli19, on 04/12/2008, -0/+2BWAHAHAHAH
    • logpony, on 04/12/2008, -0/+0What the hell? Did you not read roflcopter's comment? And what does abortion or deer have to do....
      • Nhmarine, on 04/12/2008, -4/+0Erm, did Roflcopter actually Explain why it would? he just said it would, is not a good source to quote
        • logpony, on 04/12/2008, -0/+1Haha, blow me. Sources? On my Digg? I think not.
        • Nhmarine, on 04/13/2008, -1/+0Then why the ***** did you reference roflcopter as a source? idiot
    • asdfghjkl420, on 04/12/2008, -0/+4Your opinion is dumb and you should feel dumb.
      • Nhmarine, on 04/13/2008, -1/+0Thanks for telling me why I'm dumb. Way to make a structured argument against mine =]
    • sgtpppr, on 04/12/2008, -1/+2It seems like more and more people are speaking Crazy these days. It looks like I'm finally going to have to learn to speak Crazy or I'm just not going to be able to communicate here.
  • 15thPD, on 04/12/2008, -5/+5I highly doubt it would taste the same, and that's the main issue for me.
  • DharmaTurtle, on 04/12/2008, -3/+15As a vegetarian, I think this is frickin awesome.

    (Yes, I really am vegetarian, read my digg history.)
    • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -1/+3As a vegan, I can't wait.
    • gonegirlgone, on 04/13/2008, -3/+1as a vegan, i think its silly.

      maybe its been far too long since ive tasted meat (i think i just threw up a bit at the thought)... but aren't meat replacements just as good when cooked right?
    • PaganHeathen, on 04/13/2008, -3/+0Mmmmm I love vegetarians, cows and chickens are vegetarians and very tasty!
      Plus ummm animals are made of meat - meat = food so logically...... :)
    • moletimer, on 04/13/2008, -1/+1All the meat-craving vegetarians say YEAH! WOO!

      I'm a vegetarian too (mostly), and I can't wait to try this.
  • s4g4n, on 04/12/2008, -5/+3BBQ wouldn't be the same anymore.
  • rjwusa, on 04/12/2008, -10/+4I bet it'll taste like crap, like tofurky. No thanks, I'll stick with grain fed beef, fresh shot venison and freshly hauled in wild salmon.
    • johnpaul191, on 04/12/2008, -0/+4i would say 99% of Americans have never had pure grain fed beef. There is grain in their feed, but it's mixed with protein boosters like blood and other animal leftovers from a slaughterhouse.
      • rjwusa, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3"..i would say 99% of Americans have never had pure grain fed beef. .."

        Most Americans are accustomed to their local supermarket offerings of beef. Substandard at best. They don't know a good steak or roast.

        I've had several beef raised on pasture grass, then switched to grain for several months prior to slaughter. A friend of mine in Redding, CA., does this for me. He then slaughters and butchers the steer, to be wrapped up into individual portions, then quick frozen. I drive up, pay him, bring the meat home and put it in a deep freeze. Mm-mm-good!
        • sephiroth965, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2I am so curious now. I need to find a place that sells meat like this.
          • rjwusa, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Look in your yellow pages under custom meat butchers or wild game butchers. Then, ask them who in the area will sell you a side of beef.
  • warlokaz2004, on 04/12/2008, -2/+5Real Meat (TM) will be a gourmet food when vat grown meat becomes available. One advantage is that meat will become more available, thus lowering the price -- grazing land can be put to use growing Ethanol plants like corn or switchgrass; and without animal waste and methane, its a win/win for the greenhouse crowd.

    More importantly, as meat becomes 'growable' it will enable long term, long range space exploration and colonization -- we can already grow hydrophonic plants to take care of vegetable needs, but protein needs haven't been addressed short of frozen foods -- the ability to grow cloned, cultured beef....fat free, high protien, 'keyed' to the nutritional needs of each astronaut, will address that.
    • dualscreenman, on 04/12/2008, -0/+2Well, growing corn for ethanol does consume more energy than is reaped by using it for gas.
      ...and all the fertilizer used for growing the corn contributes to the ocean's dead zone when it runs out from the watersheds.
    • johnpaul191, on 04/12/2008, -0/+2If you can grow beef in space, you can probably grow a plant. there would be massive ingredients needed to end up with "beef". There are these things like beans and rice that can be dry packed into cargo containers and will provide more protein than any astronaut will ever need.
      As a vegan i can tell you that i get plenty of protein from non-animal sources. That is not what's holding back deep space exploration.
  • ZenMojo, on 04/12/2008, -1/+7Can people have BREAD and a planet, too? That's what I'm worried about right now.
  • gabrielg01, on 04/12/2008, -13/+8The question is...why is it that you are so obsessed with eating meat? Artificial meat or not, what's so ***** "precious" about eating meat? Are you THAT brainwashed?
    • uberdilly, on 04/12/2008, -2/+8 Big stong man like meat and sex with wife grunt grunt.
      • serif69, on 04/13/2008, -0/+5Is it wrong that I know you're being facetious but I identify with your statement anyway?
    • logpony, on 04/12/2008, -1/+7***** you. I know you are just DYING to say "sheeple," but Digg doesn't want your lame revolutionary thoughts.
    • serif69, on 04/12/2008, -1/+13Have you ever eaten bacon? You'd be brainwashed too. Brainwashed and satiated.
      • Ozzsanity, on 04/12/2008, -0/+4I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years and when I smell bacon cooking it does smell good. I would never eat it but it does trigger a response.
        • sephiroth965, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1It's really like candy. If I had never had bacon before and someone made me eat it blindfolded and guess what I was eating, my first guess would be candy.
    • bxblox, on 04/12/2008, -0/+7Its delicious. Not really an obsession, just a good enough reason.
    • 35263526, on 04/13/2008, -0/+4It tastes nice. I'm a vegetarian who used to eat meat when I was younger, and while vegetarian alternatives are nice I have found nothing that can reproduce the tastes and textures of some meat-based foods. While it doesn't kill me to not eat them anymore it'd sure be nice to be able to do some in a cruelty-free way.
      • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -1/+1Have you ever tried garden burger vegan-chicken patties? They taste delicious (and IMHO like the cruel alternative)!
    • mike17032, on 04/13/2008, -6/+5Because it tastes ***** awsome you dirt ***** hippie. Why are you so obsessed with people not eating it? No one stops you from eating that tofu ***** you call food.

      And yes, ***** you with all 12 inches of my meat.
    • benbfree, on 04/13/2008, -0/+6It's because meat tastes good. Is there something wrong with me because I think meat tastes good?
    • Kytro, on 04/13/2008, -2/+3Mostly because a lot of people like the way meat tastes. I personally don't care about creatures that are not sapiant.
    • Typhoon2009, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2It tastes good and it's good for you, end of story. As long as the animals are raised and killed humanely (that second part is a bit of an oxymoron but you get what I'm saying), then bring on the meat. Some filet mignon to start, with a side of BBQ pork. Oh, and extra salmon please!
    • bobartig, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2We have millions of years of evolution that have geared us to enjoy the taste of meat. It *was* a precious commodity, rich in protein and long lasting fat calories. Now that we've had domesticated animals for a few thousand years, its much more plentiful, now, but it doesn't change the fact that we're wired to like it.
  • thomsonr, on 04/12/2008, -1/+5I hope to see this day in my lifetime. I have visions of something I heard on some Star Trek show where it was mentioned meat is not longer obtained from animals but synthesized.

    Oh and I love a steak as much as anyone else. I just don't like where it came from. Funny how it's okay to kill animals that aren't "cute". Is killing a dog for meat any worse than a beef steer.
    • dhughes, on 04/12/2008, -0/+1 "...Funny how it's okay to kill animals that aren't "cute".
      Lamb is quite popular.
    • benbfree, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1"Is killing a dog for meat any worse than a beef steer." No. It isn't. Although I'm not sure it would taste as good. If people used reason they could have a healthy respect for the cycle of life and beauty of nature. My dad raises cows on our farm. Just a few, enough for the family. He gives them names and everything. He's not sadistic for then having them butchered. Geez, do people even realize what would happen to the animal kingdom if it was left unchecked? I assure you, disease and starvation are a much more brutal death then shooting or cutting.
      • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1I guess I don't quite understand your logic. Yes, cows and dogs have been domesticated and selectively bred by humans over the generations to a point that many would not survive if we were to just "let them run wild", but is that reason in and of itself to keep breeding more of them? Raising a couple of cows on a quiet farm doesn't seem so bad, but the fate of billions of animals, unfortunately, do not have anywhere near as close of a luxury. I don't mean any offense at all in saying this but it sounds like you haven't seen the "dark side" of how lives are lost and the price the environment must pay so people can enjoy their dinners. But I could be wrong, of course. Take care.
    • Kytro, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2I have no issues with killing a dog for meat. The reason people sometime have problems is because of they realtionship humans have with dogs tends to evoke more anthropormorphism
      • sephiroth965, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1"A dog has character." -Pulp Fisction. He's exactly right bu the way.
    • TheCatsPants, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1If we do manage to synthesis meat then there will be no need for cows/lambs/chickens/pigs. No more cute fluffy lambs prancing around in the fields. Creating animals to eat them isn't cruel, it's the methods by which they are raised and slaughtered that can be questionable. Whole breeds of animals might become extinct. We already have farms where rare/obsolete varieties of farm animals are kept just to keep the diversity. I also heard that more recently that heavy horses are now under threat too.
  • str3ama, on 04/12/2008, -1/+1no such thing as cruelty free meat? however you slice it (no pun intended) the act of killing something is bound to involve pain. I'm a vegetarian as well, but I don't mind people eating meat - but I'm heavily opposed to the practices that are employed by companies to yield greater quantities and profits - things that are completely unnecessary and dangerous to the end consumers of that meat.

    When they can bring down heavier regulation on these companies I'll be a bit more trustful of such meetings - but since most of these meetings are just for PR and show - then actually alleviating concerns about neglect, cruelty and hazardous practices.
    • razorsedge555, on 04/13/2008, -1/+2i'm sure plants love it when they are ripped out of the ground and butchered....
      • sephiroth965, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1I've heard there are actually extremist vegans who won't eat vegetables for this reason.
    • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1You might be a little off on your assumption that killing equals pain. Killing something with a nervous system, yes, will most likely result in pain. Killing something without a brain/nerves/etc will NOT experience pain. Plants are a good example of this. There could, of course, be other consequences (such as cutting down too many plants/trees would harm the environment etc). Maybe that's what you meant.
    • RogueMountie, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Did you miss the part about growing the meat in the lab without using an actual animal?
  • asdfghjkl420, on 04/12/2008, -0/+2Thats such an awesome idea.
  • elfprince13, on 04/12/2008, -0/+5reminds me of the fungal foods in the Foundation Series. Trantor had a whole portion of the city dedicated to growing the highest quality mycoprotein.
  • GtCo21, on 04/12/2008, -3/+3Sounds like an interesting idea, considering people eat so much meat despite the fact they don't need it. If only people would cut their meat intake in half, or more, then there wouldn't be as colossal of a problem. You don't to eat meat at all to live, let alone eating it every day. And if only companies wouldn't use animal byproducts in all their items, then the effects would be mitigated. Unfortunately not many people care, and nothing changes.
    • alittleroy101, on 04/12/2008, -0/+3I am practically addicted to these garlic cheeseburgers that I make. I have three or four a week. Add in my regular spaghetti and meatballs, chicken sandwiches, and assorted tacos, I guess I do way over consume my fair share of meat. Maybe it's time to change...
    • ell0bo, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2Haven't you heard that cows are releasing a massive amount of methane into the the atmosphere? We're just doing our part to help this problem. The faster we eat them, the less methane they produce.
      • BOFH2, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1so are marshes but we leave them alone.
      • SeaGreen26, on 04/13/2008, -1/+0And guess who are the ones that raise all those cows that make methane in the first place? Humans, cows for human consumption! The faster we eat them, the greater the demand for the companies that produce them. It's an endless cycle. Eating more isn't gonna help. Eating less will.
    • grantmoore3d, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1FYI... animals byproducts are used, not as a requirement, just as a good use of what's left over. If you're going to kill something, make sure you make full use of it.
    • Typhoon2009, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2I eat meat because it's tasty and it's a very good source of protein and other such nutrients. I know I could eat tofu and take an Omega-3 pill, but I prefer eating a nice well-cooked salmon instead because it's far tastier. We've been hunting since the dawn of time... if I was the prey of humans, I'd rather be in a humane livestock farm (where they knock the animal out, then kill it quickly) than in the prehistoric times where Caveman Joe would hit me with a blunt spear then stone me to death.
    • arrrapirate, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1BUT IT IS DELICIOUS
  • sponeil, on 04/12/2008, -2/+0Of course we can have meat and a planet too, assuming we cut the population down to about a tenth of what it is now (maybe less). If the population keeps growing, we won't have a planet, anyway.
  • whoreable, on 04/12/2008, -0/+2What I don't understand is how they plan on making the different cuts of meat. Also sometimes you need a little fat around the meat to make it taste good.
    • benbfree, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2RTA. They only plan on making chicken 'nuggets' and ground beef.
  • DarkFoxDK, on 04/12/2008, -1/+4"Buried for hippies...."
    Well, no, anything that can help end hunger is good! *dugg*
  • wbeavis, on 04/12/2008, -0/+2Two words: Soylent Green.
  • BOFH2, on 04/12/2008, -6/+1Umm HELL NO.
  • serif69, on 04/12/2008, -2/+9If they can engineer a steak that tastes like a NY strip and cuts like a filet mignon, I'm all over this.
  • dhughes, on 04/12/2008, -0/+1 Protein resequencer?
    If not there's always Quorn. edit: I see it was mentioned in comments below the article.
  • jackd42o, on 04/13/2008, -6/+4What a bunch of granola eaters. Turn on the discovery channel and watch a polar bear kill a walrus, or a killer whale 'tenderize' a seal before killing and eating it. You hippies can eat whatever you want just don't preach to me about animal cruelty when there are PEOPLE starving and suffering in your own country and all over the world.
    • RogueMountie, on 04/13/2008, -1/+3Do you take all of your moral values from bears and whales?
  • SamuraiGhost, on 04/13/2008, -3/+3I bet it tastes like Tasty Wheat.
    • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2But how do you know what tasty wheat tastes like?
  • rhustang, on 04/13/2008, -2/+2jeez, first the microchip in the brain, now lab meat. i'm really surprised that diggers are so quick support the end of the world.
  • regeya, on 04/13/2008, -0/+5If there are any actual health benefits to this, and hit helps keep people fed without destroying acreage for running cattle, I'm all for it. Someone else mentioned Quorn, which is interesting as I hadn't known about it until now. That's really quite interesting stuff, and I'm glad I saw that, as I was thinking to myself, "now, aren't there other sources of protein?"
    We are indeed omnivorous, but we're also intelligent. It could be possible to live without our precious meat. This is coming from a guy who cooked chicken, pork, AND beef on a charcoal fire a week ago, all for one meal.
    Either way; artificial meat or mycoprotein or whatever, it's got to be better than commercial animals, as those poor things don't live anything close to a "natural" life and I shudder to think of how many of the diseases we have in the West that are caused by the things we do to our animals.
    • kineticarl, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1"now, aren't there other sources of protein?". Seriously? Sigh.....
    • moletimer, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Trust me, Quorn isn't as good as people make it out to be. Although, some Quorn meals are very tasty, I can't wait to taste a real meat alternative. So I too am all for this.
  • aguynamedben, on 04/13/2008, -1/+6doesn't McDonald's already do this with their chicken nuggets?
    • gonegirlgone, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1no, they just add soy for a filler amongst the ground dead chicken parts...
  • olbap, on 04/13/2008, -3/+4Anything to alleviate my guilt every time I eat meat! I'm all for it. I'll eat lab meat any day if Betsy the cow gets to live and graze happily for the rest of her days....
    • BOFH2, on 04/13/2008, -1/+1why the guilt? plants are alive too
    • mike17032, on 04/13/2008, -0/+3No, the cow gets to not exist at all. People arnt exactly going to be raising cows if we dont need them anymore.
      • sephiroth965, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Well they would still be raising cows for milk wouldn't they?
    • TheCatsPants, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1Betsy will become dog-food, shoes, and glue. It's not like they "retire" you know.
  • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -0/+2Can anyone list potential or real negative-effects from doing something like this? It sounds like we (humans, animals, environment) can only benefit. Or am I wrong?
  • Rizmaster, on 04/13/2008, -1/+1Fascinating. I have no ethics per se so I don't really care about people eating dead animals. However scientifically the massive consumption of animal products in this country IS the cause of global warming. 95% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by cow *****. Anyone who isn't acting purely out of their meat addiction can realize this problem.

    This, however, poses an interesting solution. Not sure if it's energetically feasible though, most of the meat problem is related to how much soy we have to grow simply to feed the animals we slaughter and eat.
    • boombotz, on 04/13/2008, -0/+0How is most of the meat problem related to growing soy?
      • Rizmaster, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1It's a conservation of energy problem.

        We need to grow massive amounts of grain to feed the animals we then eat. If we were eating these grains as part of a balanced vegetarian diet we would require far less than it takes to feed cattle a healthy diet for as long as it takes to get them large enough to kill and eat. It's a waste of energy.

        More importantly, the amount of land necessary to grow this grain is the real problem. We need to grow food to survive, and the greater the demand for meat becomes the more grain will need to be grown for the meat supply and the meat supply only.
        • boombotz, on 04/13/2008, -0/+0Well.. those may be good points, but I'm not sure if that is as significant as the other problems, like the cow ***** epidemic you mentioned. Also consider that animals are being pumped with drugs to make them fatter with less food, so a rise in the demand for meat won't necessarily mean a rise in grain production.There's currently enough unused grain being produced to feed the entire world and then some, so maybe distribution is more of a problem than growing it. But, like the article itself said, it's a lot harder to change human nature (namely greedy corporate US) than it is to change science. I'm sure the meat industry's public relations agencies are already working hard to make sure nothing like this ever happens. They do a good job of keeping us in the dark. Google the book Diet for a Poisoned Planet. It's a book critiquing our public policies that affect our nation's overall health, environment and food safety. No one has heard of it, simply because public relation firms working for the meat industry did everything within their power to prevent it from ever reaching our "marketplace of ideas."
          • Rizmaster, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1It's all part of a larger, more complex problem that hinges on the fact that greedy corporations are bad, but greedy Americans are enabling it all.

            And I don't want this to sound purely American because it's not. America just provides the impetus for this whole situation. What we really need to worry about are greedy Chinese, who want to emulate the American way and all have cars, eat steaks, etc etc. China is in a place very similar to the Industrial Revolution and that will only lead to the eventual creation of a true middle class once they figure out a way to balance their labor practices with material greed. The fun part is china's labor based economy hinges on their being able to provide goods cheaper than other places, no reason to pay Chinese workers American wages, so China will continue to have poor workers' rights by placating the workers with consumer goods. It's cheaper to throw consumer products at the chinese and keep them in the sweat shops, which is exactly what's happened in the lately workaholic US.

            But back to the main point. It's all one big system that we can't blame on one group of people. Is corporate greed a serious factor? Yes. Do the people feeding the greed machine have something to do with it? Most definitely. Is it more than any ethical dilemna? Yes, in my opinion.

            My point is that I don't care about the Animals, no moreso than I care about the Humans. I'm not asking you to empathize with cows and pigs, but realize the hard mathematical nature of feeding 7 billion people.

            The funny part is meat is only one of the larger issues with the food industries we rely on. Factory farming affects plants as much as it affects animals and we're beyond the stage where simple organic methods could possibly provide for us. If we all went veg and all ate organic produce, the world would be able to produce no more than the grain necessary to feed 4 billion people, because it's impossible to raise crops of the size we currently take for granted thanks to pesticides.

            It's all one big *****. The thing of it is, pesticides on grains fruits and vegetables aren't that dangerous to human beings. Pumping chicken and cattle full of antibiotics however, IS slowly being shown to be dangerous and we all need to be reticent of the parts we play in this industry.
  • grantmoore3d, on 04/13/2008, -4/+2As a meat eater, I am disgusted by the idea, as I am equally disgusted by meat production today. Why? Unfair treatment of animals in mass production farms, poor quality standards, and hormone injections. But I'm not going to be a pussy... aka Vegetarian / Vegan / Hippy / etc... because of it.
    • saejinn, on 04/13/2008, -2/+1*****
    • BOFH2, on 04/13/2008, -0/+1they make a choice you make a choice. forcing me to eat it is a different metter
  • dbsmoker, on 04/13/2008, -1/+1Wasn't there an urban legend about KFC doing something like this? They called it 'animal 57' or something like that. Supposedly there was some bs about them not being able to call it 'chicken' anymore. The story was that they were able to grow boneless, featherless, beakless chickens. Anyways, it wasn't true... OR WAS IT?!?!? ;)
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