Users who Dugg This
QuentinsOnTheWay
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The Hals Report
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The Hals Report
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socialpyramidAug 16, 2010
Can't wait for Chickie Nubs, a la Margaret Atwood
rogorAug 16, 2010
The world has never had a shortage of food and probably never will, the real problem is distribution, food needs to get from the production place to mouths quickly and there is no easy solution to that.
The real food for thought is population control.
tiakAug 16, 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines
Pretty sure in a few cases there have been shortages of food... That there may have been food somewhere else in the world which could've conceivably been re-allocated and still allowed everyone to survive had some sort of omniscient being been controlling the logistics is pretty irrelevant.
The article does seem pretty irrelevant to me though, considering both that artificial meats would've been available for decades at that point anyway, and that meat, animal-grown or otherwise is a much less efficient means of producing Calories than the alternatives, even if you have to bring something like desalination into the mix..
trevorbradleyAug 16, 2010
I'm not so sure of this. There was a brilliant documentary on BBC's Horizon this past year, David Attenborough hosted "How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth". It actually documents various European countries that are now purchasing large quantities of farmland in various countries in Africa and importing the food back to Europe to meet their own demands.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/food-water-africa-land-grab
drjgAug 18, 2010
It would be smarter of them to change land under viticulture to food, perhaps that is the problem. Using land in Africa for food for Europe is calling for disaster in major proportion in near future while the expensive wines are being stored in cellars for future profit for who knows if anyone will be around to use, what with global warming! Get real Europe, even if smart is too far.
beancounterAug 16, 2010
We have 2 very effective population controls in place already, famine and war. Anything else will be fighting against human nature and will likely fail. The answer to overpopulation is simple...If there are too many people, some of them will starve to death. If you think this is harsh, welcome to reality as it has been since the dawn of life.
hnic17Aug 16, 2010
Population will level out on its own at less than 10 billion. Check the trends.
valisAug 16, 2010
Rogor is naive.
rogorAug 16, 2010
And yet you have no counter argument.
infestusAug 16, 2010
It's called vegetarian meat.
trevorbradleyAug 16, 2010
It needs to be called "I can't believe it's not bacon!".
Money invested in a meat substitute that actually tasted as good as meat (or better) as judged by self professed carnivores would do more to prevent cruelty to farm raised animals than any animal rights campaign.
reelgirlAug 16, 2010
Sounds good to me:)
h8f8kesAug 16, 2010
Soylent green?
pasarisAug 16, 2010
Soylent Green is humans! It's huuumaans!!..
meribianAug 16, 2010
It's made out of PEOPLE!!!
scecilioAug 16, 2010
It varies from person to person.
mweatherAug 16, 2010
"It varies from person to person."
That's soylent soda.
themadpoetAug 16, 2010
It's people. Soylent Green is made out of people. They're making our food out of people. Next thing they'll be breeding us like cattle for food. You've gotta tell them. You've gotta tell them! ...Soylent Green is people! We've gotta stop them somehow!
trolleyfanAug 16, 2010
Better than Soylent McGreen - that stuff's just *artificial* people...
confirmedcynicAug 16, 2010
Soylent green was never practical. Think about it. A human being could only live so on the nourishment present in another human body, even if it was utilized at full efficiency. Then he'd need another. And another. Just raising a human being to the point of slaughter would require the consumption of many human beings. Diminishing returns.
unabsoluteAug 23, 2010
Suicide Clinic staffed 25/8 and moderately busy late at night. If every city had a couple of these in poor neighborhoods, I would say that the human population was was declining at least enough to offset traditional food supplies dwindling.
Soylent is economical as used as a short term solution until they exhaust the supply, in which case the population will be at whatever desired and sustainable level is anyway.
I've heard 500,000 is a good number.
supernova36Aug 16, 2010
Soylent Green; its got what plants crave.
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
I am okay with it as long as they don't make it one generic meat product. They should develop vats of t bone, pigs' feet, lobster, buffalo wings, goose, cat, and just about any other meat possible. It would finally put PETA to rest!
fbass2000Aug 16, 2010
yeah, I'm looking forward for a bacon dispenser on my workplace
ripple123Aug 16, 2010
or, dare i dream, a CONTINUOUS STRIP OF BACON.
laser314Aug 16, 2010
cat? Who want to eat hot pussy? Oh wait, never mind....
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
All I am saying is that this could be applied to produce meat for ALL cultures. ;)
ikorkyiAug 16, 2010
PETA will never rest
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
There's a book called Androids Dream by John Scalzi. You should read it.
hyperionhkAug 16, 2010
PETA will still find a way to go crazy over it
bluecollarzaAug 16, 2010
PETA has actually promoted lab grown meat, IIRC. It caused a bit of in-fighting amongst different PETA factions though.
Ah yes, here:
http://www.peta.org/feat_in_vitro_contest.asp
dontthinksoAug 17, 2010
I'm just waiting for Human to hit the market.
jmrocketAug 16, 2010
Why don't we just throw massive amounts of birth control pills in Africa's and Asia's water supplies?
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
I don't know why people are burying you. It is the third world that is currently piling on the population growth.
co0p3rAug 16, 2010
...and the 1st world countries that consume more than 2/3 of the world's available resources.
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
Then the third world peoples should have fewer babies in order to better educate the ones they have.
peck3277Aug 16, 2010
@webreforms
They can't, the mortality rate of infants over there is so high they have to have a lot of kids to ensure some survive to adulthood
dfrossAug 16, 2010
@Peck3277: that is no longer the case. If it was, then their population wouldn't be growing so exponentially.
Fact is, they've always had large numbers of children, to give the best chance at some surviving. They are still having lots of children, but a lot more of them are surviving now, hence the population explosion. Their best bet would be to limit the number of children they have, as survival rates increase, but such a change in culture is difficult to engender.
geezorAug 16, 2010
Population growth rates are not that different between "first" and "third" worlds; the gap between them across nearly all dimensions is vastly diminished in fact:
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
dokgonzoAug 16, 2010
Why don't we just throw massive amounts of birth control pills in America's and Europe's water supplies?
Oh, white people live there? My bad.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
Natural population growth in America and Europe is practically null, and just about all of the overall growth is from immigration.
meribianAug 16, 2010
Had to be "that guy", didn't ya?
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
I am not for eugenics, but I am all for promoting voluntary birth control.
dokgonzoAug 16, 2010
Yeah, throwing birth control agents in someones water supply sure is voluntary.
And yeah, I had to be "that guy", so what? Eugenics is bad, mkay? Why would black and yellow babies have less right to be born than white ones? If you're gonna throw birth control in anyones water you might start with your own.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
zerocubedAug 16, 2010
America and most of Europe have very slow population growths. Japan is said to have negative population growth. Third world and religious ruled countries are responsible for much of the rapid growth we see due to the fact that contraceptive methods are seen as evil and sin in the religious countries, and in the third world countries, contraceptives are rumored to do all sorts of crazy s**t like make one lose their penis, possess them to do crimes, grow extra heads and limbs ect.
Basically, world's problems would be solved faster if we just educate people better and if the religious would get their brains away from those books...
tarantulusAug 16, 2010
it's not racist if it's true.
jkalAug 16, 2010
And your reasoning is? they are the ones consuming the most meat?
1st world countries consume the most and not only that we are very inefficient we throw away 40% of consumable food.
There is no food shortage if we all shared properly and stopped wasting food.
This artificial meat news is just to hype up sensationalism and also to push the patenting of foods.
jmrocketAug 16, 2010
They are the ones with the highest population rate and the least contributions to mankind as a whole.
nullcodesAug 16, 2010
I wish people like you were never born.
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
Sounds good to me. Bones are annoying.
laser314Aug 16, 2010
I recall a story on "That's Incredible" or "Real People" from the late 80's. Some collage professor was growing and cooking some kind of yeast or single cell animal. He would form it into patties and fry it up like a hamburger. Once cooked, he claimed his neighbors couldn't tell the difference.
Anyone have a link to that show?
themachine1Aug 16, 2010
It sounds like Quorn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorn
gryffon5147Aug 16, 2010
Everything has its pros and cons, there's a lot that this article is not saying... remember alternative ethanol fuel from corn to reduce gas consumption? The downside was that it meant higher food prices and food shortage. Alternative meat grown in a tank will mean higher energy needs in a world with reduced energy options... there is a better solution out there than growing meat in a lab. Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
fordsvt1Aug 17, 2010
Your point is taken, but since you have absolutely no idea how much energy it would take to create artificial meat your conclusion is meaningless. Also take into account the fact that artificial meat could be grown virtually anywhere, without needing grazing land so we could greatly reduce the transportation costs of meat in many areas that need to import everything.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
timetheosAug 16, 2010
SPACE MEAT!!!!!!!!!!
devramosAug 16, 2010
It's what the astronauts eat!
kingbinjiAug 16, 2010
slim jims?
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
In Vitro meat will happen sooner or later.And personally I think it's a good thing. The only thing I'm afraid of is that it'll most likely spark a big protest from religious groups and the conservatives. "Eating fake meat is a sin, we are challenging god and it's an abomination", and so on.
emjayseaAug 16, 2010
In vitro meat? So, like, someone would have to give birth to a pot roast?
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
It's called In Vitro meat. Take a look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat
twilightmadnessAug 16, 2010
"Eating fake meat is a sin, we are challenging god and it's an abomination, and so on."
Your probably right, of course the rest of us can simply tell them that if they don't want it, don't eat it.. Evolution thinning the herd since life began.
younastyyAug 16, 2010
inb4 disease and cancer
jonezeAug 16, 2010
its made of people
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
Lab-grown meat is certainly an interesting idea. Not only would it allow for people to eat meat free from any guilt over the suffering of animals, but you could even use it to try meat which would otherwise be impossible/illegal/taboo, like dogs, cats, tigers, and humans.
thatinternetguyAug 16, 2010
No, you will never have human flesh. Artificial meat is not something engineered in a lab from a bunch of proteins. It comes from real tissues of real animals. Basically what you'd eat would like taste like human flesh because it's actually human flesh. It doesn't come from a complete living human.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
thatinternetguyAug 16, 2010
It's probably legal for you to have your own muscle cell grown in the lab and you can't eat it. Totally whacked up.
fordsvt1Aug 17, 2010
I'd imagine that human flesh, like any meat, would taste different depending on what the personal/animal ate. You can tell the difference between a grass fed, free range cow and a cow that eats nothing but processed feed its entire life, for example. Meat grown artificially could probably customized to taste a certain way, like marinating.
ripple123Aug 16, 2010
a way to whale away the hours.
nyxerebosAug 16, 2010
I don't think it's illegal to eat dog meat in most places. To *sell* dog meat might be, but of you own dogs I can't imagine why the law would prevent you eating them. They're no smarter than pigs, and one can own and eat those.
gzalziAug 16, 2010
Animal cruelty laws prevent it.
I've seen several stories on Digg over the past couple of months that mentioned people getting arrested for trying to eat their animal.
carbonetcAug 16, 2010
Animal cruelty laws are partially waived when it comes to food animals. They're not waived because cruelty isn't occurring, they're waived because people stop caring about cruelty once their diets are affected. So, yes, better to be a dog than a pig.
nyxerebosAug 16, 2010
The Wikipedia has an article on this topic. Seems to be prohibited in some parts of the US and Western Europe but legal more places than not, though widely taboo and uncommon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat
zerocubedAug 16, 2010
Um..no thanks. I think I'll stick to veggies.
G.SanchezAug 16, 2010
Meh. Irrevelent.
milieunetAug 16, 2010
Vegetarian Meat made from Algae: An Environment Friendly Meat Substitute http://bit.ly/bjkWPR
roddackAug 16, 2010
Bacon > Algae
drameyAug 16, 2010
Meat just wont taste as good if it doesn't have parents somewhere that will miss it.
emjayseaAug 16, 2010
Yeah, top British scientists would come up with that, wouldn't they.
fordsvt1Aug 17, 2010
EVUL SCIENCE DURRRRR
lalongecarabineAug 16, 2010
I read a Sci-Fi story about the far future where everybody ate artificial meat.
The hero in the story won a food contest by using real earth grown herbs in his dish.
When they found out, they all puked because food that actually touched soil was disgusting to them.
Something to think about, 2 years ago more people were over weight than starving in the world. I'm sure
this recession has shot that in the head, and that is also not to say that world hunger isn't a huge problem.
thatinternetguyAug 16, 2010
Meats in a juice box. Sign me up!
thatinternetguyAug 16, 2010
Unless dirt can be converted into foods, the artificial meat itself must come from something and somewhere. The carbon, sugar, proteins and other stuff won't just come out of thin air.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
themachine1Aug 16, 2010
The idea is it would take less of those items to produce meat via tissue culture compared to raising the animal.
nullcodesAug 16, 2010
Umm, yeah it comes from dirt and soil. Where do you think plants get stuff from? And btw, carbon can come from air .. worried about too much CO2 in the air ? Carbon sequestration .. plants pioneered it .. but today's artificial processes are more energy efficient.
nyxerebosAug 16, 2010
Sure, but animals take a great deal of land, water and feed to produce a small quantity of meat. It's very inefficient, lots of the energy input is wasted by the animal running around, growing tissues we don't eat, etc. If one can get the sugars, amino acids, etc from algae then meat could even be farmed at sea.
geezorAug 16, 2010
You need to learn about trophic levels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophic_level
"he efficiency with which energy or biomass is transferred from one trophic level to the next is called the ecological efficiency. Consumers at each level convert on average only about 10 percent of the chemical energy in their food to their own organic tissue. For this reason, food chains rarely extend for more than 5 or 6 levels."
formerbabbyAug 16, 2010
I doubt we can feed 9 billion people. We are already having a ton of trouble with 6 billion and change.
protodonAug 16, 2010
Only because half those people are kind of irresponsible and rely soley on aid from the ones that can create food.
donpacific2kAug 16, 2010
We could, but right now a lot of land is going to grow commodity crops like corn to feed cattle. In the future, assuming the population keeps growing and becoming more westernized it's going to take a lot more technology to keep up the current American lifestyle. (also assuming we want to actually protect natural lands from development) Things like indoor/underground/vertical farms, new nutrient sources like the artificial meat mentioned in the article, etc...
skidooerAug 16, 2010
There is no shortage of food on the earth right now. The problem we do have with feeding the world is political.
celotilAug 16, 2010
Time to get rid of the politicians, the patent-squatters, the lobbyists, and lying corporate executives who have no interest in the betterment of the lifestyle of the public at large.
Hmmm, no need for artificial meat, not just now.
protodonAug 16, 2010
I thought this stuff was coming out in the next couple years but 2050? wtf.
nullcodesAug 16, 2010
You don't need artificial meat though to feed the world.. if you can make something that's super cheap, tastes good, and has all the essential proteins that's good enough. it doesn't have to be "meat." It can be a bean substitute or rice/wheat flour substitute.
The only reason to make artificial meat is to save animals.
fordsvt1Aug 17, 2010
I think you're talking about soy products, and we have that.
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
"There will always be those who are willing to pay more, for the real thing"...
ssomu007Aug 16, 2010
Good news. Like astronaut. eat once for some days.
xanksnapAug 16, 2010
I want to be long dead and buried before this happens.
frostekAug 16, 2010
Let me know your home address.. ;-)
gzalziAug 16, 2010
Burial is such an inefficient and land wasting thing to do with your body. Why not turn it to meat instead!?
hindermoreAug 16, 2010
I thought the meat they served us in high school was already grown in vats?
mk2cavAug 16, 2010
If we dont have the resources to feed 9 billion people then they starve to death, thats natural selection for you. Eventualy the population will drop to a sustainable level.
aliendisasterAug 16, 2010
If we have the resources and they still starve, is that natural selection or greed?
orangerevelAug 16, 2010
I guess you could call it "human selection".
remingtonhAug 16, 2010
just eat at taco bell.
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
A whole new meaning to mystery meat.
Closed AccountAug 16, 2010
Humans need to stop making babies too much. Overpopulation is a big problem. I fully support human right to reproduce, but maybe if there were financial incentives to have only one kid for a few generations, the number would decrease?
carbonetcAug 16, 2010
Birth rates are dropping overall, whereas the average lifespan has doubled in the last century and we're aggressively researching ways to triple and quadruple it. I think we've just about solved the previous population problem only to be met with a new one.
unfriendlyfireAug 16, 2010
Charlton Heston was not available for comment.
trevorbradleyAug 16, 2010
It needs to be called "I can't believe it's not bacon!".
Money invested in a meat substitute that actually tasted as good as meat (or better) as judged by self professed carnivores would do more to prevent cruelty to farm raised animals than any animal rights campaign.
intensevisualsAug 16, 2010
Genetically modify humans to be 1/4 the size and voila 4 times the resources.
bluecollarzaAug 16, 2010
"Artificial meat grown in vats may be needed if the 9 billion people expected to be alive in 2050 are to be adequately fed without destroying the earth, some of the world's leading scientists report today."
That, or people just eat a lot less meat and a lot more plant-based stuff.
carbonetcAug 16, 2010
Screw your efficient, sensible solution. People must have meat three meals a day!
ieatskunkAug 16, 2010
Not much different than hot dogs if you think about it.
And it sure beats eating insects.
mnx12Aug 16, 2010
It already exists, it's called Boca.
co0p3rAug 16, 2010
If you don't eat it, are you an artificial vegetarian?
joannchiladaAug 16, 2010
As gross as meat growing in a vat sounds, it's no more gross than slaughtering animals. This will be my mantra when the only meat I consume was grown in a vat.
devramosAug 16, 2010
I tend to make a scene if a steakhouse doesn't have cow eyes in a jar that I can look at while I eat my steak. Needless to say I cause a lot of ruckus when I go out to a restaurant.
I'll pass on this one. I'll be a little over 70 by 2050, so I really won't know WHAT I'm eating at that point.
timetheosAug 16, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k0OLahG7ok
About 3.5 minutes in
boja357Aug 16, 2010
It's either this... http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html or we learn to pull out... EVERY TIME!!
G.SanchezAug 16, 2010
The biggest question in overpopulation is how much is too much?
nullcodesAug 16, 2010
If there are two people on Earth, if they own nukes they can annihilate the planet. But if there are 100 billion on the planet committed to recycling and living in small apartments and using hydroponics to grow their own food with solar power. It's not a question of numbers, its a question of who.
hashish16Aug 16, 2010
There is no food shortage, just an addiction to animal based protein
buckrogers1965Aug 16, 2010
I remember all those old B movies about vat meat. The blob, here we come!
Closed AccountAug 17, 2010
I'm good on the genetically mutated radioactive fuhk ya whole s**t up food... -_-
hereticoftruthAug 17, 2010
If that is what leading scientists are saying, it is time to fire their sorry little asses and get scientists with good common sense into leadership positions. The best way to make progress in agricultural pursuits is to retrace our steps and go back to efficient sustainable agriculture, not factory farms.