Would you eat meat grown in a lab?

[lion]

Imagine there would be no ethical concerns, since no animals would have been killed to manufacture it. But would you want to eat meat grown in a lab?

I don't know if I would, simply because it's been so long since I ate it, the thought of eating meat makes me repulsed. Plus I'm worried about the side affects of foods that are engineered like what I described.

A lot of people are vegetarian because they believe it to be a healthier diet choice than eating meat, also, so they wouldn't eat such a thing.

I do think that such a product, along with other synthesized animal products, could eventually replace the real thing once people grow used to the idea and relax about there being repercussions.

 

[Blaine]

What is the taste like? I understand the reason why they would grow meat from the lab but I can not imagine how the process will be like. Just the thought of it creates more questions in my mind and having said that I will not eat anything that was processed or grown in a lab.

 

[Rizwani]

What is the taste like? I understand the reason why they would grow meat from the lab but I can not imagine how the process will be like. Just the thought of it creates more questions in my mind and having said that I will not eat anything that was processed or grown in a lab.

Why not? Many people choose to be vegan/vegetarian based on strong ethical reasons and rightfully so! We've all seen what the industry is willing to do when breeding animals just to remain competitive. But I think laboratory cultivated meat provides vegans and vegetarians (even omnivores) with legitimate options in their choice of diet. Personally it is a struggle of what kind of process was used to produce the meat in front of me, rather than the fact that it is meat. Imagine the effects of just a fraction of the worlds' population shunning away all meats not grown in a laboratory. It would be an ethical quantum leap if ever I saw one.

 

[japanesewaterbottle]

There are bound to be issues with laboratory-grown meat, though. I would probably eat some if they could prove that it is identical to real meat. I think the technology isn't quite there yet, but it would be amazing if it were.

As it is, I've eaten veggie meat that tasted really close to the real thing, so perhaps there isn't enough demand for lab-grown meat.

 

[Alexia]

I try to eat as many natural foods as possible, so processed artificial meat would not interest me. There would be questions about how safe it was and the nutritional value. People are still concerned about quorn and other textured vegetable proteins and won't eat those, so it would take a lot of convincing before people would try it or trust it.

 

[Connie]

I honestly don't know. But this raises the question of a) why is it classed as meat at all? b) what animal is it closest to and c) how humane would be? Is it simply because of the type of cells being grown and what animal would it represent, if any. You would still have to kill it at the end of the day and are we talking about think layers of meat cells which are then processed together, or are we actually talking about the ability to grown muscle than can be calved into?

If it is not classed as an animal, it is a culture, is it any different from yeast or fungi? Is it any different from antibiotics grown in a culture? And for that matter is it any different from other food sources such as tofu which are grown in cultures (and fermented etc). There are plenty of other food stuffs grown in a culture of one form or another. I keep a culture for a sourdough for example.

I guess at the end of the day, it would probably come down to marketing and safety and I guess I would probably stay on the side of no because I don't see the need for meat replacements, so I guess I don't see the need to eat artificial meat.

 

[felielizab]

As Alexia stated above, the concern of it being processed meat would probably make me not want to get near it. How safe is it? What kind of meat is it? How was it processed? I'm not sure I would be willing to. Good question!

 

[Damo]

I try to eat as many natural foods as possible, so processed artificial meat would not interest me. There would be questions about how safe it was and the nutritional value. People are still concerned about quorn and other textured vegetable proteins and won't eat those, so it would take a lot of convincing before people would try it or trust it.

I'm with Alexia on this.

I do my very best to consume as much as I can that comes from the ground, I do not like the sound of processed or modified food. So if lab grown meat became a thing I wouldn't touch it, I like my food as natural and as untouched can be.

 

[NanouHammie]

Grown in a lab? Do you mean baby animals being raised in a lab? I am confused! I see it as destroying the home of an innocent soul. Animals are good people, I feel terrible for any soul that has to live in such prisons.

 

[Andy_T]

Well, I prefer to eat "meat" made from Seitan, Soy, Chickpeas, Beans or whatever other plants can be used for the process. Not only for ethical concerns and because it grosses me out, but also for the simple economy of production (more input of nutrients needed for animal-derived or lab-grown meat than for plants).

But, if it gets some meat-eaters to eat it instead, then I'm all for it (although some frown upon it as it "perpetuates the idea that animal meat is nutrition for humans, which it is not").

Best regards,
Andy

 

[Connie]

Grown in a lab? Do you mean baby animals being raised in a lab? I am confused! I see it as destroying the home of an innocent soul. Animals are good people, I feel terrible for any soul that has to live in such prisons.

Nope, it is simply the muscle cells that are being grown. There is no actual living body, just cells. Rather like growing leaves without a tree, nothing more. The cells can't live by themselves, so there are no animals, no cages, no soul, no prison, just cells. They are alive in the same way the cells of a leaf are alive but they can't live by themselves, so there is no blood, no sinew, no bones, nothing like that, just cells that when processed will form processed meat. It is the closest thing to artificial meat that you can really get, given that an animal is not involved. It is no really that difference from growing cell cultures on agar for testing antibiotics against - it is just on a much larger scale!

 

[CrowdedHighways]

I did not eat too much meat even back when I was not a vegetarian, so I might try it out of curiosity, but I really have no more interest in eating artificial meat than real meat(unless it turns out to be awfully tasty).

 

[Josie]

They're also working on milk, which will be out sometime next year.. they don't want to release it until it tastes as good, if not better than the real thing. They're seriously attempting to get people to make the switch because living off of animals is so horrible for our health, the planet and completely unsustainable. I probably won't be eating the meat, because I still worry about the health consequences.. but it's a great GREAT step forward for the animals. I'm very happy about it

 

[turtledove]

The idea of something so processed worries me slightly, and I wouldn't eat that kind of thing for that reason alone. I don't really ever think about meat in my diet, and I don't think I would need to buy something that has been so processed.

As well as this, I've been vegetarian since birth (grew up in a vegetarian household), so I don't think I would want to try this kind of product anyway. I've never even thought about eating meat, and I wouldn't want to try it ever (even if there weren't any ethical issues).

However, I think if such an engineered product can reduce the number of animals being killed, I'm all for the idea!

 

[Danielle Davidson]

You know, I don't think that I would be able to do that. I mean the way that they make the meat now is gross, and thinking about that is also kind of gross. I mean how would they be making it in the lab anyways? I guess that if I got to see how the meat was made then I might think about doing that. Otherwise I don't think that I would be able to .

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

To me, in this case animals wouldn't be my concern, but quality of the product. To make meat from a laboratory, it's expected chemicals to be used, and these could be worst than eating real meat, aside of the cruelty associated to killing them.

But killing an animal is one thing, and killing a human with lab experiments is another. Who could guarantee no side effects will occur at a later time after eating it regularly.

 

[Tedrocks123]

I wouldn't eat meat grown in a lab but only because I've grown to be really grossed out at the thought of eating meat but I'd definitely eat milk or eggs that had no ethical implications through a similar process.

 

[winter.frost]

I wouldn't eat meat grown in a lab but only because I've grown to be really grossed out at the thought of eating meat but I'd definitely eat milk or eggs that had no ethical implications through a similar process.

That's a really interesting perspective! I wonder what these new diets would be called. Bears some thought.

 

[gab]

My view is that the meat grown in labs is for meat eaters rather than vegans. We have our own food that's tasty, keeps us young and healthy for longer and is ethically sourced. I would not have any interest in trying the lab grown meat (I do not even consume vegan meat-like products).

 

[winter.frost]

I would not eat these meats either because meat is still carcinogenic and unhealthy, on balance. I am also opposed to GMO so eating genetically engineered food is probably out for me as well.

I'm excited to see improvements in vegan food. Think about what vegan cheese was like less than a decade ago, compared to some of the options now. I think things like the impossible foods initiative are the future, rather than genetic meats etc.

I am looking forward to impossible cheese, impossible milk and the like. I don't want to return to actual animal products.