Poll: Artificial Meat?

[CrystalShadow]

I don't know, maybe. Depends how much weird shit they put in it. Vegetarian substitutes like Quorn are already pretty tasty, so I guess it's the next logical step.

Though I do think it would be a bit weird for vegetarians to eat it. I mean, not that I'd have a problem with it, but it seems weird to me to not eat meat, but eat a lab grown steak that is effectively just meat. even more than the current substitutes. Yeah, it's not been killed and cut up, but it is likely at least based off some kind of animal cells or something.

Well, yeah, but it depends on the reasons for being vegetarian.

Individual cells are not widely regarded as having feelings, or being capable of suffering. (we don't really know, but that's beside the point). If you take issue with cruelty and suffering, then it seems perfectly reasonable to eat meat created as a cell culture rather than a living animal.
If you regard the cells themselves as somehow meaningfully capable of suffering, then you have to ask why a person is OK eating plants, but not OK eating meat.

Both are living things, and on a cellular level, not all that different. (yes, OK, plant cells are quite distinct from animal cells in some ways, but they still have a lot in common).

If the issue is the treatment of animals and what kind of life they have, then it doesn't seem at all strange. In fact, in that context, being OK with eating plants, but NOT OK with eating a cell culture of animal cells seems rather weird and arbitrary.

There are other reasons to be vegetarian of course. Health for instance. In which case, you might avoid animal cells on the belief that it's unhealthy.
Or, perhaps, environmental impact of meat production. In which case whether you'd eat it or not depends on how lab-grown meat compares in terms of environmental impact with other food sources.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

But only, ONLY, if they called it Soylent Green.
Captcha: "I like people" - See, Escapist gets it.

Damn it... This is exactly what I was going to say! Ninja'd on a random old school cutural reference... *High Five!*

But yeah... on a serious note, it would need a new name. You couldn't call it meat. And no stupid play on the word 'meat' either; we would regret it in the future. No Fmeat; iMeat; Meat+; SuperMeat64 etc...

 

[MeatMachine]

Considering the Japanese made headlines for making edible hamburgers out of human shit a few years ago, I think the hesitation and shock value of artificially-created meat wouldn't last long.

Again, provided it has an acceptable balance between price and flavor.

 

[Yopaz]

Here's my weird prediction. Branded artificial cannibalism! If we can grow convincing muscle from a cow... ...Why not a person? Why not a celebrity? Cash in, famous sex symbols. All those people who say they want to gobble you up? Let 'em, for a fee.

Animals eating the meat of animals that are the same is one of the things that causes spongiform encephalopathy, or at least is one of the more prominent things that is suspected to cause it. I saw a documentary that showed that spongiform encephalopathy was far more common amongst cannibalistic culture than non-cannibal populations. So making a habit of cannibalism can be potentially fatal.

No, this is false. It was caused by that, sure, but you could feed a man meat from an infected cow and he would get it, you could feed it to a pig and it would get it and you could feed it to a cow and it would get it. The cause is misfolded proteins that have an increased stability compared to correctly folded proteins called prions. It was likely caused by the fact that they used to grind up the central nervous system of animals and mix it with the food to increase nutrition value of their fodder.

It was caused by cannibalism, but cannibalism isn't what causes it. Keep in mind that this is outside my field of expertise so it is a grossly simplified explanation.

OT: According to what I know about artificial meat in its current state I would not stop eating meat. It's expensive to produce and it doesn't offer the same variety of flavours.

Whenever it becomes a viable substitute for meat production I don't see why not.

 

[spartan231490]

There is nothing wrong with killing animals for food, so I would not stop eating real meat just because artificial meat was available. I would buy and eat whichever was the best product, based on food and taste, same as I do now.

 

[MHR]

So I can stop being a damn vegetarian and actually have a burger? YES please. I'd eat fake meat, I don't give a crap.

It might sound icky, but think about it. At the very least you know you're not eating a corpse. People will eat corpses just fine, but not some clean grown stuff? Grow up.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

If it was basically the same as real meat or better and less resources intensive to produce than farming sure, why not.

This.

I would go for artificial meat in a heartbeat if it met these conditions, not so much because of ethical implications, but because meat production is a massive strain on our planet. Having artificial, perfectly replicated meat just seems like a win-win scenario. We already have artificial flavours, why would artificial meat be that much different? Besides, what do we classify as artificial anyway? As something that doesn't grow in nature or something humans make by combining various materials? Hey, I guess bread is artificial then! Right now I'm sitting in an office, and the only thing I can see that isn't artificial or man-made is my own body and the trees outside. Almost everything in our lives is artificial, it's only the degree to which it's artificial that gets people up in a bunch.

 

[rcs619]

I've heard about scientists being able to create artificial meat, or in vitro meat, and it got me wondering what would happen if this became a mainsteam practice. Do you think we would have an ethical obligation to stop eating real meat (as in stop killing animals)? Would vegetarians/vegans be willing to eat artificial meat? What do you guys think?

Personally, I think it's silly that some people try to insist that there are no ethical issues with eating plants. Let's not forget that plants are alive too. They aren't just inanimate things that sometimes taste good. They live, they grow, they die, and according to some studies also feel pain and stress in a way. A different, alien sort of way compared to how animals do, but it is there. You gotta kill to eat, that's just the facts of life. If it not having a face, and not being able to make noise about being eaten makes you feel better, well do what works best for you. But don't talk about ethics when you're still killing another living thing to keep yourself alive

(Now if you want to get into the terrible conditions found at various factory-farms, that is an extremely worthwhile discussion to have I think. Livestock exist to be eaten, but even they deserve to retain a shred of dignity in the process, and a lot of the chemicals and sanitary conditions in those places can lead to some major consequences on the consumer end of things)

Either way, back on topic. The concept of artificial meat brings up a lot of interesting possibilities. I don't think it will ever replace real meat, and I don't think they'll ever get the taste 100% correct. There will always be a difference to those who know, and I feel like a decent amount of people would prefer to stick with the real deal. However, if they can make it close enough to the real thing, and cheap enough to mass produce, well that opens up a ton of options. You could use artificial meat to reduce the amount of livestock in use some (freeing up land and resources), or you could just use it to help feed the poor, the homeless and the needy (once the actual process is refined and up and running, this stuff should be dirt-cheap to pump out). The lack of a good source of protein is a really serious issue with underprivileged people, and synthetic meat could be a good way to bridge that gap and maybe bring in a higher standard of living overall.

And yes, the vegans can finally untie the knot they have in their undies about 'ethics' and enjoy a nice hamburger like normal people, I guess

 

[MHR]

Personally, I think it's silly that some people try to insist that there are no ethical issues with eating plants.

Anyone thinking for more than a half-minute knows this is bullshit.

Beat a plant, then beat your dog. Tell me which one screams loudest.

I swear....

 

[jklinders]

It's currently pretty prohibitively expensive both in energy and in tech. You can't get something from nothing after all. But the meat industry is one of the biggest culprits in greenhouse gas emissions and sooner or later that elephant is going to have to be acknowledged. If they can make it efficiently enough, I'll be all over that shit. We're a ways from that yet though.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Provided it tastes just as good, costs about the same, is just as nutritious and doesn't have some even worse drawback, then sure, why wouldn't I? It's not like many people live anything close to an all natural diet anyway. How many of you right now are eating some kind of processed junkfood or drinking something equally artificial?

Honestly, despite me unashamedly eating meat and having no regrets, nor any intentions of becoming vegetarian/vegan, whenever the topic of vegetarianism/veganism comes up I find myself embarrassed by the stupid arguments put forth by people who I'm ostensibly on the same side as.
"But what will become of all those animals that are yet to be slaughtered?"
"But if it weren't for meat we wouldn't be here today, therefore it is perfectly moral, just like all the other past actions of our society ..."
"But what about all the poor carrots? They're living things too, so isn't vegetarianism just as bad?"

Christ, get some new arguments, because these ones are cringe-worthy and seem to be brought out every time.

On a coincidental side note, I'm off to buy a meat-lovers' pizza.

 

[MHR]

"But what will become of all those animals that are yet to be slaughtered?"
"But if it weren't for meat we wouldn't be here today, therefore it is perfectly moral, just like all the other past actions of our society ..."
"But what about all the poor carrots? They're living things too, so isn't vegetarianism just as bad?"

Christ, get some new arguments, because these ones are cringe-worthy and seem to be brought out every time.

Seriously, Every damn time.

Do people even realize how stupid they sound?

 

[rcs619]

Personally, I think it's silly that some people try to insist that there are no ethical issues with eating plants.

Anyone thinking for more than a half-minute knows this is bullshit.

Beat a plant, then beat your dog. Tell me which one screams loudest.

I swear....

Fish must be totally okay then too. They can't scream when you beat them. Oh wait... Quite a few vegetarians *do* skirt around the edges by still eating seafood. I actually completely concede this point

I'm just saying, the super self-righteous, obnoxious vegans that are like "I eat plants because I don't want to kill another living thing to sustain myself" are dumb. If you wanna talk about the crap that gets put in a lot of modern commercial meat, or the horrid conditions in factory farms, or that maybe we eat too much meat and everyone should have more plants in their diet, those are all totally legitimate points.

 

[Areloch]

So I can stop being a damn vegetarian and actually have a burger? YES please. I'd eat fake meat, I don't give a crap.

It might sound icky, but think about it. At the very least you know you're not eating a corpse. People will eat corpses just fine, but not some clean grown stuff? Grow up.

You're eating dead organic matter regardless of if you're vegan, vegetarian, meat or artificial-meat eater.

On topic, I'd probably eat both. As others said, what I buy at the time would be dependent on the taste, quality and price.

 

[Pyrian]

Putting aside emerging research into the systemic travel of prions beyond the nervous system, it is unfortunately a common misunderstanding that the BRAIN is the only infectious portion of the animal. ... Here's hoping that it's not a significant source of prion diseases, or that the suspected presence in the food supply was exaggerated.

Right, sort of. Eat a mad cow, and you can get it too, but mad cows only crop up where brains were in the feed. So, yeah, lab-grown celeb-meat could be contagious, if the celeb was already a brain eater. But that's true of any meat.

It was caused by cannibalism, but cannibalism isn't what causes it.

It seems to have been caused by eating brains, but seems to be transmissible afterwards.

Beat a plant, then beat your dog. Tell me which one screams loudest.

The one with lungs, of course. But just because you can't hear it, doesn't mean the plant doesn't "scream". Neighboring plants will "hear" it just fine.

http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2014/04/29/307981803/plants-talk-plants-listen-here-s-how

 

[Yopaz]

Putting aside emerging research into the systemic travel of prions beyond the nervous system, it is unfortunately a common misunderstanding that the BRAIN is the only infectious portion of the animal. ... Here's hoping that it's not a significant source of prion diseases, or that the suspected presence in the food supply was exaggerated.

Right, sort of. Eat a mad cow, and you can get it too, but mad cows only crop up where brains were in the feed. So, yeah, lab-grown celeb-meat could be contagious, if the celeb was already a brain eater. But that's true of any meat.

It was caused by cannibalism, but cannibalism isn't what causes it.

It seems to have been caused by eating brains, but seems to be transmissible afterwards.

Beat a plant, then beat your dog. Tell me which one screams loudest.

The one with lungs, of course. But just because you can't hear it, doesn't mean the plant doesn't "scream". Neighboring plants will "hear" it just fine.

http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2014/04/29/307981803/plants-talk-plants-listen-here-s-how

I mentioned that in my post. It was by grounding the central nervous system, either brain or bone marrow. Please don't quote me out of context.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Provided I like the taste and texture (and it isn't prohibitively expensive) I would stop eating real meat entirely.

 

[sageoftruth]

Until I've tried it, I can't say for sure.
I couldn't care less whether it's artificial or made from a dead animal.

If it's just as good as real meat, then I'm in.

 

[Pyrian]

I mentioned that in my post. It was by grounding the central nervous system, either brain or bone marrow. Please don't quote me out of context.

I think my chosen quote was properly representative of your post (which is to say confusing and contradictory, specifically because you're using "cause" alternately as proximate and ultimate without specifying which), which is a lot more than I can say for you quoting my entire post to respond to one section in the middle.

So. All known cases of spongiform encephalopathic prion disease involved eating central nervous systems - either as proximate or ultimate cause. Vat grown meat does not involve eating central nervous systems. Therefore, there is no reason to think it represents a heightened risk over normal meat, and may even reduce risk.