The future of meat?

[m-fine]

If you have never read the Hitchhikers Guide series, I think the author Douglas Adams could see the future. The books revolve around a device that gives the owner access to a virtually infinite wealth of information, although most of it is false or useless. Think smart phone with Internet access. But that is besides today's point.

In one of the books, the characters stop off a restaurant where the genetically modified cows have been bred to have the intelligence to act as their own waiter. "Sir, may I interest you in a slice of my..."

Anyway, we are not there yet, but it looks like we are heading down that path. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science...eat/index.html

I wonder if they can grow me a nice black angus burger, but substitute the beef fat with better tasting pork fat. Oh, and while you are at it, can you grow the garlic and pepper flaver right into the meat?

I also can't wait for the 8 legged pig that has all back legs, giving 4 times the hams as a regular pig. Octoporky will rule!

[dguarnaccia]

Wasn't this theme also pretty prevalent in Bladerunner too? It's only a matter of time really...

[m-fine]

Yeah, I did not bring up the Obama (s)Care "end of life counselors" and the paralells to Soylent Green either.

[dguarnaccia]

ROFL..yea..that too :)

[django1]

Interesting. I think that the PETA like sensibilities will only continue to grow. I recently read an article in a local paper by a doctoral student about the ethics of eating meat. I'm a total carnivore but her logic was hard to refute.

I'm a little confused about the technique in the article though. They say "grow real animal protein in the laboratory" and later ""pork" is made from pig ovaries retrieved from slaughterhouses, which are fertilized with pig semen, transforming them into embryos". Besides the ominous images from the Matrix this brings to mind, if you have a pig embryo won't you soon have a pig? And then you are just raising livestock again not "grow(ing) animal protein in the lab". I'm probably missing something.

[m-fine]

I think it is probably simmilar to stem cell research. They are using the embryo as a source of cells to grow out in the lab. I don't think they are growing the entire pig, which is why they are talking about ground meat substitues and not steak ham or bacon. I am sure the stuff looks quite gross until they make a McNugget out of it. Or a little green wafer.

[SKYWLKR]

Much of the flavor and texture of flesh is from the experience and growth of the animal...

With out this (eating, running, playing, walking, grazing etc etc etc) the meat is just protein, Might as well eat peanut butter...


Enjoying a nice 16oz 1.5" thick marbled to perfection Ribeye now!!

[Stereodude]

Enjoying a nice 16oz 1.5" thick marbled to perfection Ribeye now!!

I had a very nice USDA Prime ~16oz Ribeye earlier today myself. :thumbsup:

[m-fine]

I had some Soylent Yellow and Soylent Red wafers. Neither were as good as a steak.

[django1]

More detailed article on the subject here (details on how it's done around the 14th paragraph)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article3894871.ece
"Although the in vitro technology is not yet developed enough to synthesise blood vessels and so grow large steaks, Friedrich believes that this will happen eventually. “In vitro meat has already been created - not with the taste and texture of animal-corpse meat, but it is on its way,” he says. “Eventually the technology should be such that you could grow all the parts of an animal, minus the brain."

I think they have already accomplished this with some humans...