Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.

Lab Grown Meat... would you?

124678

Replies

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    I'd like to first go after invasive species.

    oooh! move over here and eat all our european chafer beetles for us \o/

  • If they can make it tasty and a good price, then yes. I'm a vegetarian because I don't like harming animals, but my mouth waters when I smell meat being cooked. Humans are naturally omnivores, but whilst I can just about bring myself to eat fish, I can't eat meat.
  • 5Months2fit
    5Months2fit Posts: 36 Member
    Yes, 100%. I don't mind if it doesn't taste as good as traditional meat. The fact it would prevent killing animals is good enough for me.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    I wouldn't eat it myself (i've never really cared for meat, even when I was an omnivore), but I'd strongly welcome it as a good alternative for those who want the taste of animal protein without the ethical considerations of having to kill sentient creatures for your taste preferences.
  • bikecheryl
    bikecheryl Posts: 1,432 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    They'll figure it out with the taste. What's not mentioned here is that it will be practically hormone free, antibiotic free and chances of parasites or any organisms invading are pretty much nil. That's a big plus. And again how much less water, food and waste will be eliminated to raise cattle?
    I'd actually eat it to check it out. I've had bland food when I used to compete so I probably won't be that surprised.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    this pretty much sums up how i feel about it. i haven't had meat since i was 11, but i would go all in for a tasty lab substitute that was ethically sound and environmentally sustainable.

    veggie burgers are great, veggie chicken is alright, i have never met an acceptable veggie steak.

    So what do we do with all the cows in the world?
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    bikecheryl wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    They'll figure it out with the taste. What's not mentioned here is that it will be practically hormone free, antibiotic free and chances of parasites or any organisms invading are pretty much nil. That's a big plus. And again how much less water, food and waste will be eliminated to raise cattle?
    I'd actually eat it to check it out. I've had bland food when I used to compete so I probably won't be that surprised.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    this pretty much sums up how i feel about it. i haven't had meat since i was 11, but i would go all in for a tasty lab substitute that was ethically sound and environmentally sustainable.

    veggie burgers are great, veggie chicken is alright, i have never met an acceptable veggie steak.

    So what do we do with all the cows in the world?

    Consider supply-and-demand. As more and more people shifted to lab-grown meat to replace meat from slaughtered cows (assuming this happened), fewer cows would be bred by farmers. The cows already brought into the world to be killed for meat would still be killed for meat, there would just be fewer new cows to take their place.

    It's why, for example, we don't have thousands of horses clogging the streets even though people in the US used to use them for transportation but then switched to cars.

    I wonder what it would do to the dairy industry? Just thinking about the cattle side. Remember, we don't eat cows, just steers.

    If dairy is still as popular, we'd still have cattle for milk production. But the males would probably be slaughtered young (veal) except for those few destined to be bulls. No sense putting the money into raising the steers to slaughter size if there is lab-grown meat to replace them, so the males would be killed off pretty young. Yes, it would reduce the resources needed for cattle, but maybe by half (or less).

    Same could be said for chicken and eggs if people still want eggs.
  • Unknown
    edited January 2018
    This content has been removed.
  • nataliecg926
    nataliecg926 Posts: 82 Member
    I would definitely eat it if it tasted the same and was similarly priced to traditional meat, yum cruelty free steak get in my belly (I eat meat for most of my meals arleady, but agree that this would be the best alternative going forward in the modern age)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    bikecheryl wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    They'll figure it out with the taste. What's not mentioned here is that it will be practically hormone free, antibiotic free and chances of parasites or any organisms invading are pretty much nil. That's a big plus. And again how much less water, food and waste will be eliminated to raise cattle?
    I'd actually eat it to check it out. I've had bland food when I used to compete so I probably won't be that surprised.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    this pretty much sums up how i feel about it. i haven't had meat since i was 11, but i would go all in for a tasty lab substitute that was ethically sound and environmentally sustainable.

    veggie burgers are great, veggie chicken is alright, i have never met an acceptable veggie steak.

    So what do we do with all the cows in the world?

    Consider supply-and-demand. As more and more people shifted to lab-grown meat to replace meat from slaughtered cows (assuming this happened), fewer cows would be bred by farmers. The cows already brought into the world to be killed for meat would still be killed for meat, there would just be fewer new cows to take their place.

    It's why, for example, we don't have thousands of horses clogging the streets even though people in the US used to use them for transportation but then switched to cars.

    I wonder what it would do to the dairy industry? Just thinking about the cattle side. Remember, we don't eat cows, just steers.

    If dairy is still as popular, we'd still have cattle for milk production. But the males would probably be slaughtered young (veal) except for those few destined to be bulls. No sense putting the money into raising the steers to slaughter size if there is lab-grown meat to replace them, so the males would be killed off pretty young. Yes, it would reduce the resources needed for cattle, but maybe by half (or less).

    Same could be said for chicken and eggs if people still want eggs.

    I don't know enough how dairy production to speculate as to what it would do for overall populations, but it was my understanding that dairy and beef breeds (at least in the US) are already relatively different. Male dairy calves (those who don't become bulls) are already slaughtered pretty young and female dairy cows are often slaughtered for meat when their milk production dips, but I think it's a lower quality meat.

    Chickens and eggs are the same thing -- the males of the laying breeds are killed right away (not even used for meat) and the females are killed once their egg production falls, but the meat is very different than what is found in the breeds specifically used for their meat.

    Someone who knows more may be able to correct me if I'm wrong here.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    bikecheryl wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    They'll figure it out with the taste. What's not mentioned here is that it will be practically hormone free, antibiotic free and chances of parasites or any organisms invading are pretty much nil. That's a big plus. And again how much less water, food and waste will be eliminated to raise cattle?
    I'd actually eat it to check it out. I've had bland food when I used to compete so I probably won't be that surprised.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    this pretty much sums up how i feel about it. i haven't had meat since i was 11, but i would go all in for a tasty lab substitute that was ethically sound and environmentally sustainable.

    veggie burgers are great, veggie chicken is alright, i have never met an acceptable veggie steak.

    So what do we do with all the cows in the world?

    Consider supply-and-demand. As more and more people shifted to lab-grown meat to replace meat from slaughtered cows (assuming this happened), fewer cows would be bred by farmers. The cows already brought into the world to be killed for meat would still be killed for meat, there would just be fewer new cows to take their place.

    It's why, for example, we don't have thousands of horses clogging the streets even though people in the US used to use them for transportation but then switched to cars.

    I wonder what it would do to the dairy industry? Just thinking about the cattle side. Remember, we don't eat cows, just steers.

    We do, for example feeder cattle (young cattle on feed lots) are typically both steers and heifers.
  • bikecheryl
    bikecheryl Posts: 1,432 Member
    If you think the meat your eating is only from steers your sadly mistaken
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    IF it means I can call myself a Vegan, sure I'm all in.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,976 Member
    roserly wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    roserly wrote: »
    Yes, things change and people change. But I will not eat lab grown meat - even if it becomes normal.
    Remember when they used to have LEADED gas? Then they stopped making it. Your choice then was to use unleaded gas and that was it. So, if their was NOTHING but lab grown meat that was chicken, beef, pork, etc (and you never know) you'd end up being a vegetarian?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png


    Uh yes. Lol. I can make my own decisions and I can stand by them. I doubt however that there would be no meat other than lab meat - but if so, yes I would be vegetarian. :)
    There a lots of things in history that became obsolete based on new technology. Don't be surprised.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • This content has been removed.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    I would be meat free if that was the only option. Or hide away in the back country with my little farm of animals. Similar to what I do now I guess...
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    edited January 2018
    Yeah, absolutely. As long as it was environmentally more friendly than actual meat. I tend to be very pro-GMO and often anti-organic, though.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    I'd at least give it a try. If it was tasty, I'd eat it just like I eat any other meat.
  • Wen2Run
    Wen2Run Posts: 62 Member
    So long as it tastes good I would eat it.
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    I'd actually be more inclined to try this, if my digestive system would allow it. I've been a vegetarian for 10 years, this would solve a good deal of my concerns with meat, I dont think I'd ever really sit down for a big steak but it would be nice to be able to use small quantities to enhance some of my current meals.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    Sure. If they can get it to taste just as good as meat with the same texture, and get the price down, I'd eat it.
  • dragthewaters1991
    dragthewaters1991 Posts: 45 Member
    edited February 2018
    I've been vegetarian for 2 1/2 years and I wouldn't, for a few reasons. First of all, I wouldn't trust that it wouldn't have other safety concerns, especially right after it came out before the health effects over decades were studied. It's not a natural product and I am trying to eat a primarily natural diet. Secondly, I am an environmentalist and live a lifestyle where I try to produce a low level of landfill waste and carbon emissions, and I suspect lab-grown meat would still produce more waste and emissions than the plant-based equivalent (I worked in biological research labs for years and they produce a ton of plastic waste, which all has to be incinerated). Also, personally I think the meat substitutes already on the market, which are made from tofu and/or seitan along with oils and seasonings, are sufficient for any meat cravings I have, and are getting better every year (some of the best ones I've tried are: Lightlife bacon-flavored tempeh, the Impossible Burger, and the veggie "seafood" at Veggie Heaven, a vegan restaurant chain in northern New Jersey). Even back when I ate meat I was never really a "meat person," I very rarely ate red meat in my childhood, I was grossed out by the skin and gristle and so on (which wouldn't be present in lab-grown meat, but even so), and I also hated touching or cooking raw meat due to the contamination risk, which is why I didn't find it hard to give up.
  • dragthewaters1991
    dragthewaters1991 Posts: 45 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Is it the same stuff they used to make the Impossible Burger? My vegetarian boyfriend had one and loved it. But he didn't turn vegetarian because he thought meat was gross. I personally would rather have a veggie burger, or real meat.

    No, the Impossible Burger is made from plants.
  • LarryRacesBikes
    LarryRacesBikes Posts: 17 Member
    Got to feed the meat obsession! There are better alternatives out there
  • czmiles926
    czmiles926 Posts: 130 Member
    If it's more sustainable to produce than real meat, I'd eat it
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    Why not? I would totally do it. Farms produce a lot of pollutants so this could be a way to reduce that.
This discussion has been closed.