First hamburger made from lab-grown meat to be served at press conference

[Blobbenstein]

Over the weekend, scientists at Dr Mark Post's laboratory in Maastricht University made their final preparations for an event they hope will change the way we see food. On Monday, Dr Post will cook the world's most expensive hamburger, made from meat grown in Petri dishes in his lab.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/first-hamburger-lab-grown-meat-press-conference

Not much new, but still interesting....I think without added flavour, his tube burger would taste like unflavoured TVP.

Video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23554340

 

[shyvas]

A mystery benefactor has forked out the £220 000 to pay for the research. Apparently the person is a household name and has the midas touch.

According to the a member of the UK Vegetarian Society and further to a poll, few vegetarians would consider consuming the product.

 

[shyvas]

A mystery benefactor has forked out the £220 000 to pay for the research. Apparently the person ( I have a hunch to who it may be ) is a household name and has the midas touch.

According to the a member of the UK Vegetarian Society and further to a poll, few vegetarians would consider consuming the product.

 

[Moll Flanders]

Peter Singer said that he would try in vitro meat if it became commercially available.

The world's first cruelty-free hamburger | Peter Singer | Comment is free | The Guardian

 

[Blobbenstein]

Google's Sergey Brin bankrolled world's first synthetic beef hamburger

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/google-sergey-brin-synthetic-beef-hamburger

 

[shyvas]

Google's Sergey Brin bankrolled world's first synthetic beef hamburger

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/google-sergey-brin-synthetic-beef-hamburger

I thought that it may be a Brit who forked out the money !

I've just watched the taste taste on the TV and the various interviews by experts. Apparently the overall taste wasn't bad but the burger was lacking in salt and pepper !

 

[thefadedone]

A mystery benefactor has forked out the £220 000 to pay for the research. Apparently the person is a household name and has the midas touch.

According to the a member of the UK Vegetarian Society and further to a poll, few vegetarians would consider consuming the product.

I'm assuming the few are vegetarians for health reasons only.

 

[Blobbenstein]

If I were an omnie, I might want to eat this stuff because it was a bit weird, and scifi......I always liked the idea of artificial foods. I'm sure some kids would probably go for the Frankenfood thing in a positive way.

 

[shyvas]

I'm assuming the few are vegetarians for health reasons only.

I'm having computer problems so am writing this very quickly ; sorry if there are any mistakes.

The 2 groups who said that they would consider eating the synthetic meat, were the ones that were vegetarian for health reasons and the other were green plant activists.

 

[Amy SF]

I'm not sure what the ethical stance of lab grown meat will be for most veg*ans - but for me, eating meat grown in a Petri dish is kinda gross. In fact, eating meat of any kind is kinda gross.

 

[Forster]

I'm assuming the few are vegetarians for health reasons only.

I would have assumed the opposite, the few would consist of those who are vegetarian only for animal rights/anti cruelty.

 

[SummerRain]

I would have assumed the opposite, the few would consist of those who are vegetarian only for animal rights/anti cruelty.

That's what I would have thought too, logically lab-grown meat is surely not going to be any healthier than real meat, and I doubt it's more environmentally friendly to eat lab-grown meat than real meat. But an animal doesn't have to die or suffer to produce lab grown meat... in theory, but in reality according to the vegetarian society

As described, the current lab meat production process begins with cells taken from an animal and uses animal blood to 'feed' them as they grow and divide, but that might be something that could change in the future.

Currently 78.90% say NO they wouldn't eat it, 13.87% say MAYBE and 7.24% say YES. Of those who said NO or MAYBE the biggest concern is "It's still harming animals" followed by "It's not natural". The poll is here!

 

[Danielle]

Not sure if I would eat it..

 

[Mr Crunchy]

\
According to the a member of the UK Vegetarian Society and further to a poll, few vegetarians would consider consuming the product.

Based on an informal poll I conducted, few omnivores would consider consuming it either.

P.S. I would not. A significant reason for my being vegetarian is just the gross-out factor. This just raises it by an exponential factor.

 

[shyvas]

I must say it was fried in tons of butter.....................................

 

[shyvas]

Based on an informal poll I conducted, few omnivores would consider consuming it either.

P.S. I would not. A significant reason for my being vegetarian is just the gross-out factor. This just raises it by an exponential factor.

Further to the TV interviews that I saw this afternoon, most people say that they want the 'real' thing.

 

[Blobbenstein]

and I doubt it's more environmentally friendly to eat lab-grown meat than real meat.

I thought that that was one of the selling points. Less resources would go into making a kilo of lab meat, less methane given off...?

 

[Amy SF]

Further to the TV interviews that I saw this afternoon, most people say that they want the 'real' thing.

Yes, I imagine that would be a major reason for any resistance to lab grown meat by omnis. It's cultural. People are used to the idea that animals were slaughtered for their food, not grown in a Petri dish.

 

[Blobbenstein]

Yes, I imagine that would be a major reason for any resistance to lab grown meat by omnis. It's cultural. People are used to the idea that animals were slaughtered for their food, not grown in a Petri dish.

A lot of people say 'I would like to go vegetarian, but I like meat too much'. Those people will have less excuse if the lab meat tastes good enough.....

 

[SummerRain]

I thought that that was one of the selling points. Less resources would go into making a kilo of lab meat, less methane given off...?

I think until the process is streamlined it's difficult to know for sure, I'm not sure any real breakdowns have been done, the people making the in-vitro meat tend to say it's going to be more environmentally friendly, but some critics argue it'll use more energy/fossil fuel.

Personally, I doubt at the moment it will be more environmental because the process isn't streamlined and is still being perfected... the (environmental) cost of running labs, experimenting, etc, is bound to be high because the product is being made in tiny amounts. Obviously I don't know for sure, but until I see an energy break-down I'm definitely not going to take it as red that growing meat in a lab is more energy-efficient.

Here's a wikipedia discussion on it.