lab-grown meat

and I live in Montana. we've got plenty of land and plenty of cows. top soil erosion? come on. we've got an acre or two for our cattle to wander on out here.

the point here is that farmers own a certain amount of land, if that land loses all the top soil, the crops will become mineral deficient. It's not like all the farmers are going to move to good fertile land.

well, right, but why are ranchers concerned about growing a crop? they use their land for what they need their land for. and if it is for cows, they don't need nutrient rich peas or tomatoes. and when they are free range, the impact is minimal because of herd movement. actually, on most large ranches this is the case.

I didn't mention ranchers but I support free range, pasture fed cows, and that's the beef I'm going to eat if I eat some. I'm talking about farms that have way too many cattle for the land they own and they eat all the vegetation leaving just soil. They are usually fed GMO corn which causes more gut E. Coli so the meat has to be sterilized with chemicals.

There are great alternatives sources of protein to meat. Two of them are hemp seed and algae like spirulina, chlorella, afa, and phytoplankton. These are highly sustainable and foods that improve the environment but I don't see anyone getting excited about them.

It's considered manly to go have a big steak and I doubt that's going to change. It would be great if people would cut down on meat consumption but it's unrealistic. Meat is a staple in a lot of people's diets and it would be tough to persuade them to change.

As for lab-grown meat, if it's possible they are going to try it, and if it's financial viable and legal, they're going to sell it. I personally would never eat it.

I've been trying to go vegetarian but I do eat meat occasionally. I usually spend more for higher quality, humanely raised meat if I do buy it.

I do promote organic, non-gmo foods. I think a lot of the degenerative diseases are from altered food crops. Monsanto may be trying to stop world hunger [more like take over the market in certain commodities (corn,soy,sugar beets)] but they are creating toxins in the food that can damage organs and help destroy people's immune systems. I fear lab-grown meat will have the same consequences.

Well stated

For those of you chronic meat-eaters or non-vegetarians, if you prefer a less negative epithet, you are pushing scientists to try to produce meat in petri dishes in an effort to reduce your environmental impact. As a vegetarian myself, I find this hugely disturbing and unnatural. If you would cut back on your meat consumption even a little bit, this sort of thing would not only be unnecessary, but also it never would have been given serious consideration to begin with. I'm all for coming up with new ways of reducing environmental impact and fixing world hunger, but this is ridiculous. With this in mind, would it really be such a sacrifice to be vegetarian one day a week?

On the nutrition front, it is entirely possible and practical to meet a 40-30-30 macronutrient ratio on a vegetarian diet. I am doing it successfully, and I am NOT eating the same things over and over again. I love delicious food as much as a fat kid loves cupcakes, and I must have variety in my diet. If you are interested, I would happily share with you my meal plans and vegetarian/vegan recipes.

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101208/full/468752a.html

YAAY. Scientific ignorance combined with a condescending, holier-than-thou attitude.

And people wonder why vegetarians are held is such disdain.

I thought it was the gas from all the beans.

Let me take the *kitten*-hole position for a second here.

First off, if you're against growing meat in a dish and you've spent 99% of your life in the United States, please do all of a favor and shut the hell up. It's getting pretty irritating listening to people with the holier than thou attitude.

Second, if you want to be against this technological advancement, I must first ask you to travel to developing countries and take a look at what people eat. By that, I mean take a look at their lack of dietary choices. Take a look at the high cost of meat. Take a look at the poaching that goes on for endangered species because meat is such a rare commodity.

That's right, people in other countries eat rice or bread in high amounts with very little protein in their diet. Many of them are malnourished. They work and sweat all day and then consume well below the minimum amount of protein recommended by MFP. Many of them catch frogs in the local rivers in order to get protein. Many others resort to eating worms or bugs. Others catch snakes and trap bats. I've eaten all these things with locals and it's not an easy life. It's a constant struggle to survive and get a decent meal in. Many of these people would LOVE to have some extra protein based food to feed their children. If this lab grown meat can feed starving people while reducing the impact of having more animals on this planet that drink water which could also go towards human consumption then that's even better.

So if you want to be against this whole concept because it's not natural and you enjoy being a vegetarian, I'll just go ahead and remind you that you're full of crap and you're selfish. Of course, you don't realize you're selfish because that would require actually getting off your lazy *kitten* and seeing people starving and poaching animals in order to feed themselves. You're probably the same type of person that can't tear yourself away from American Idol long enough to actually consider these types of things while you rationalize your snobby attitude as well.

Now I realize why I don't spend much time reading these message boards. Five minutes is all it takes to remind me how self-absorbed western society is.

This is not disturbing at all to me. I am optimistic that this can become reality some day.

I second this post.

Do you know what I'm most excited about?

If we can grow meat to eat, we can grow meat to replace wasted and damaged muscle in an accident victim.

Now we just need to figure out the neuron bit.

Go science.

Also.. I eat meat. No intention of stopping ever. Personally, I just don't like legumes... and tofu is bleh... I'd fail at vegetarian. I have been trying to buy more free-range chicken and beef.... but... only as much as my budget allows. That's gonna have to be good enough.

Another one I really agree with. Well said.

We do what must, because we can.

I heart the general response this thread has received. Yay for science!

For those of you chronic meat-eaters or non-vegetarians, if you prefer a less negative epithet, you are pushing scientists to try to produce meat in petri dishes in an effort to reduce your environmental impact. As a vegetarian myself, I find this hugely disturbing and unnatural....

I'm sorry, was this supposed to be an informative post? Or a judgy McJudgerson post... because it's certianly coming off as the latter. AS a proud omnivore, I am not pushing anyone to produce meat in a petri dish and would rather give it up all together than to eat lab created meat... I would also either raise or hunt my own meat than give it up completely as well. And I agree with those that say GMO crops are completely relevent... as they were modified in order to create bigger, better and more drought/disease/rotting resistant produce in order to feed the masses.

Do you know what I'm most excited about?

If we can grow meat to eat, we can grow meat to replace wasted and damaged muscle in an accident victim.

Now we just need to figure out the neuron bit.

Go science.

Also.. I eat meat. No intention of stopping ever. Personally, I just don't like legumes... and tofu is bleh... I'd fail at vegetarian. I have been trying to buy more free-range chicken and beef.... but... only as much as my budget allows. That's gonna have to be good enough.

Another one I really agree with. Well said.

We do what must, because we can.

Hmmm... that is a good reason to create flesh in a lab... I can totally support and get behind that idea, so I second the yay! Science.

Growing meat? That's freaking awesome

I want to grow a hamburger right now