Lab grown food

[Sixsixtysix]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ern1zjkvyo

Not sure I'm ready to buy products like the ones mentioned in the article. Sweetners I can see (as long as clearly disclosed) but a lab grown wagyu steak? Nope.

[Terminator X]

As long as it gets labelled as lab grown then freedom of choice kicks in. I suspect it won't be though.

TX.

[rdjohn]

The notion that super-processed foods are not good for you seems to be gaining traction.

I do not understand why vegans choose soya-based products that have been manufactured to look and taste like meat.

But I really do not understand why someone would be tempted to chose food grown in a lab. Its a solution that is only necessary if we wish to survive living on Mars.

We are Omnivores eating natural foods seems a pretty obvious solution to our genuine needs.

[21TonyK]

Lab grown meat has been approved in the US and a few other places around the world. It will happen here (and everywhere eventually).

I have no issue with it as long as its labelled as such, and for the consumer it will be.

[g4ry13]

There's something very unappealing about this lab grown food.

[ScotHill]

Some pretty good looking chicken in this video, and can see the benefits from a time and environmental perspective, it might even eventually work out cheaper to make.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFLV60CJNho#t=54s

[J210]

Hasn't Italy all ready banned it ?


Who wants fake meat made with chemicals.

[Murph7355]

What could possibly go wrong....

[Tom8]

Processed food is all carcinogenic isn't it? One way of ridding ourselves of the vegans I suppose.

[bloomen]

I think it's a superb idea if done right.

All the effort and resources involved in raising something for months or years only to be slurped down in a few seconds is mind boggling.

If it's a mass of emulsifiers and preservatives to bash it into an acceptable form then no thanks. If it's somewhere near a replication of a natural process then great. Not holding out much hope for that though.

There are also areas like pet food that consume a lot resources and lab grown stuff is already on sale.

And it's not as if plenty of real meat is free of hormones, steroids, anti biotics and other filth.

Edited by bloomen on Monday 10th March 11:38

[cheesejunkie]

I'd eat anything. Really.

But if lab grown food tastes good and solves the problems of agricultural land abuse I'm all for it.

Make it taste good is all that I ask.

I do think we're quite a while away from it being doable on commercial scales but vegans have to realise that the way to a sustainable meat free future is not by getting people to give up meat, it hasn't and will never work. Finding alternative means of producing meat will be more successful.

[nikaiyo2]

I either watched a tv program or listened to something on the radio where the presenter ate some lab grown meat and they could not tell the difference between lab grown and natural when the meat was processed into a burger or chilli or what not. The "steak" was horrible as the texture was completely wrong. They were really really complimentary about the "mince."

I think the attraction of it is that its vastly lower cost, produces much less carbon and uses less resources to produce than real meat. I get the impression the appeal of "lab grown" was very much its less impactful production as opposed to ethical.

Cant say it appeals much.

[Sheets Tabuer]

Once this gains traction and starts to become acceptable they'll tax the hell out of real meat with a drive to net zero and eventually it will be banned for saving the planet reasons.

The only place you'll see a cow is in the zoo.

[bloomen]

Sheets Tabuer said:

Once this gains traction and starts to become acceptable they'll tax the hell out of real meat with a drive to net zero and eventually it will be banned for saving the planet reasons.

The social aspect is the big one.

Livestock farming is the bedrock of big chunks of the world.

You can't turn it off like a lightswitch without incredible seismic waves.

[Hoofy]

As a partaker of the kebab of donner, I probably wouldn't notice the difference.

[clarkey]

Like f*ck I'd eat that stuff. Nothing wrong with meat and vegetables!

[Condi]

cheesejunkie said:

I do think we're quite a while away from it being doable on commercial scales .

It's already being sold commercially for pet food, which is/should be cheaper than human food.

Can't say it appeals to me, but I can certainly see how it's more efficient than rearing cattle for 2 years, and then throwing half the animal away (blood, bones, brain, etc). The amount of resources which are needed to grow cattle especially, are quite astounding. It's incredibly wasteful.

Also for the likes of fish, which are harvested from the ocean and not farmed, it could be really important for protecting the seas which are being destroyed by over-fishing.

[Silvanus]

rdjohn said:

The notion that super-processed foods are not good for you seems to be gaining traction.

I do not understand why vegans choose soya-based products that have been manufactured to look and taste like meat.

But I really do not understand why someone would be tempted to chose food grown in a lab. Its a solution that is only necessary if we wish to survive living on Mars.

We are Omnivores eating natural foods seems a pretty obvious solution to our genuine needs.

I'm with you on eating natural food, the more natural and varied the better. However not all food is equal in how it's produced. Even if you take one food item such as a beef steak, the range of methods of production from farm to plate is incredibly varied. Also there is the world wide issue, that we just consume far more meat and dairy than we need to, and it is completely unsustainable and damaging to continue to keep up with demand.

I would actively avoid lab grown meat at all costs, as I do with most highly processed foods. I have personally reduced the amount of meat and dairy I eat by quite a bit and only buy the most sustainably produced available. If everyone did this it would make an enormous difference, even very small changes by a large number of people would make a massive difference.

[Murph7355]

nikaiyo2 said:

I either watched a tv program or listened to something on the radio where the presenter ate some lab grown meat and they could not tell the difference between lab grown and natural when the meat was processed into a burger or chilli or what not. The "steak" was horrible as the texture was completely wrong. They were really really complimentary about the "mince..

You can always tell. Much like when my old mum puts celery (food of the devil. Note how nobody is expending time trying to lab grow that evil st) in stuff, or used to hide sprouts under mashed spud when we were kids.

Having a vegetarian for my OH brought me to realise that trying to pretend a foodstuff isn't what it really is, is daft and counterproductive.

The best veggie food doesn't pretend to be meat. It's great stuff in its own right. I can't see this mush being any different.

And as someone else noted, we're being told ultra processed foods are seriously bad for us... So what gives?

If we really want to grow less cows, use less energy etc, the place to start is less people....anything else is can kicking.

[cheesejunkie]

Condi said:

It's already being sold commercially for pet food, which is/should be cheaper than human food.

Can't say it appeals to me, but I can certainly see how it's more efficient than rearing cattle for 2 years, and then throwing half the animal away (blood, bones, brain, etc). The amount of resources which are needed to grow cattle especially, are quite astounding. It's incredibly wasteful.

Also for the likes of fish, which are harvested from the ocean and not farmed, it could be really important for protecting the seas which are being destroyed by over-fishing.

Yip. It was a joke with a jab when I said just make it taste good. I do care about intensive farming practices and the harm they cause but I do like a steak. I'm a hypocrite and think vegetarians are too, the only purity is veganism, fk purity, I'd rather be filthy.

But at some point we have to find workable solutions. Being pious doesn't work. I'm willing to bet, as are you, that when lab grown meat becomes widely available some won't know the difference as it's smothered in sauce. Maybe increased sauce investment is the solution to solving the lab grown beef problem . I like a pork chop, I like a steak, I like fried chicken. But I won't reject alternative solutions out of hand.