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Government plans to feed us synthetic meat by 2050

The technical term for this stuff is In Vitro Meat. It’s laboratory-grown muscle fibre that tastes and smells like meat, but has never played any part in moving an animal around a field. Stem cells are cultured in giant petri dishes, the muscle fibre is pumped with chemicals, and then exercised to turn it into a tougher steak-like consistency; not entirely unlike the tragicomedy that unfolds each day down Fitness First.

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Reply 1

Kaykiie

If it smells like meat, looks like meat, has the same texture as meat and tastes like meat then I'll eat it.

I'd eat Quorn if it tasted any good but it tastes and looks like crap so I still eat meat :smile:

It's too nice to give up completely.

Reply 2

Rant

Personally, I'd rather not eat any kind of meat.

Reply 3

abc101

Kaykiie

It's too nice to give up completely.

Quorn products are awesome. Most of them, you can't tell they're not meat - all the chicken ones, and the ham, for example.

I'm all for synthetic meat. It's all good.

Reply 4

Blueflare

This will give us more arable land and less animal cruelty.

Why is it bad, exactly?

Reply 5

Aphotic Cosmos

Hang on brah.

In Vitro meat looks like meat, it tastes like meat, it will have all the nutritional properties of meat, none of the animal cruelty or welfare concerns of meat, consume a ridiculously small amount of water and nutrients compared to real meat, does not emit huge quantities of methane like the sources of real meat, and takes up virtually no land in it's production. It is the future, time to embrace it.

When it starts being commercially sold, I am so there. I personally think we should completely abandon all traditional farming and switch to in vitro meat and hydroponically grown crops, and then turn over all former farmland to it's natural state. We should be growing in subterranean and skyscraper farms to utilise space effectively and grow food ultra-locally.

Reply 6

username234673

And so begins the end of the phrase "If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then it's probably a duck".

I'm all for it. ****, I don't know where the food I eat comes from now, why would I worry if it's from somewhere else?

Reply 7

sarsi

The problem is change. We are used to eating animal meat and some would label it as "true" meat or traditional meat. I mean come on guys we gotta move on in life. Society changes, we must adapt to this and benefit from it in the long term. I see no problems in switching to this new kind of meat. It is like switching from normal to organic or vice versa, same kinda thing.

2050 sounds a good kinda target :biggrin:

Reply 8

Dnator

Would vegetarians eat this meat :holmes:

Reply 9

DaveSmith99

Dnator

Would vegetarians eat this meat :holmes:

Personally, as a vegetarian I would not. Since I have become a vegetarian, the thought of eating meat, or the smell of meat makes me feel very ill, so I dont think I would be able to stomach it. I have no problem with it ethically though.

Reply 10

Kaykiie

abc101

Quorn products are awesome. Most of them, you can't tell they're not meat - all the chicken ones, and the ham, for example.

I'm all for synthetic meat. It's all good.

As someone who eats meat regularly, I can definitely tell the difference.

We all have different tastes and I don't like the taste of Quorn, or the consistency for that matter.

I'm all for the synthetic meat if it tastes right with the right texture of meat. I'll gladly give up meat then.

Reply 11

Preasure

It's nothing to do with the government. Once cleared by the FSA as safe, it'll be driven by supply and demand and private enterprise.

The government won't forcibly convert us to in vitro meat because if it's exactly the same and cheaper, once people get over where it comes from they won't have to.

Reply 12

Hooovan*

Dnator

Would vegetarians eat this meat :holmes:

i wouldnt to be honest.

Reply 13

Adam Ben

lol I'm confused, is it real meat? or just processed meat?

Reply 14

Blueflare

Adam Ben

lol I'm confused, is it real meat? or just processed meat?

Neither, it is "meat" grown in a lab from stem cells. It will never have been part of an animal but will be virtually identical to the regular meat we have now.

NeilBoorman

Dnator

Would vegetarians eat this meat :holmes:

I think I probably would, although I'd need a bit more info on it, but since I'm a vegi due to ethical reasons so long as there's no death required to produce it I wouldn't have a problem.

If they can make bacon taste right I'm in! I might be a vegitarian but there is nothing in the world that tastes as good as a sunday morning bacon bap...Although they would need to make synthetic lard in order for it to be right.

Reply 17

Dnator

FatMikeUK

If they could perfect the perfect slab of synthetic steak, I would be in. To be fair, I would be happy with some sort of meal capsule or injection - eating bores me and takes too much effort :p:

Reply 18

themanbearpig

Its about time. I think synthetic meat will take off in a massive way, as long as its nutritional values are the same, and it doesn't cause any long term problems (more so than regular meat).

Human beings need meat in their diet, but some of us have evolved enough to realise that killing other helpless animals for their bodies isn't right. Im sure the religious nutcases will protest, as apparently according to some prehistoric ramblings, animals exist just so we can consume them.

Reply 19

Psyk

Sounds good to me. For me, the big win from this wouldn't be the fact that we wouldn't have to kill so many animals, it's that we wouldn't need to keep so many animals alive. Better for the environment, and more space for humans.

Although you've got to consider where the energy comes from to grow it. It sounds like it would help the environment, but would it really? We may find that while we no longer need all that space for cows to graze, we still need most of that space for more power plants. If you think about it, we're effectively making food using solar energy using traditional farming methods. I don't think we'd really have a net benefit if this is all ultimately powered by non-renewable energy sources. Are current solar power technologies more efficient than grass?