No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time

[mysteryowl]

Singapore’s approval of chicken cells grown in bioreactors is seen as landmark moment across industry.

Cultured meat, produced in bioreactors without the slaughter of an animal, has been approved for sale by a regulatory authority for the first time. The development has been hailed as a landmark moment across the meat industry.

The “chicken bites”, produced by the US company Eat Just, have passed a safety review by the Singapore Food Agency and the approval could open the door to a future when all meat is produced without the killing of livestock, the company said.

Dozens of firms are developing cultivated chicken, beef and pork, with a view to slashing the impact of industrial livestock production on the climate and nature crises, as well as providing cleaner, drug-free and cruelty-free meat. Currently, about 130 million chickens are slaughtered every day for meat, and 4 million pigs. By weight, 60% of the mammals on earth are livestock, 36% are humans and only 4% are wild.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/02/no-kill-lab-grown-meat-to-go-on-sale-for-first-time

I can't wait to try it! I hope it is good and the US approves it.

[blugbox]

1. Awesome I also cannot wait to try this!

Besides all of the environmental benefits this will lead to, imagine when this is perfected and you can have a perfectly marbled steak every single time. Or being able to produce meats with exact fat to protein ratios. Many many cool opportunities possible if this develops further.

[PirateRo]

6. Agree

Now think what it means to the evolution of all those animals we’ve been eating, their reduced fear before death, disease. If only they weren’t so damned tasty with A-1 sauce!

Now, we can grow the parts of the animal we want to chow down on without butchering the entire creature and we can grow what we want in any amount. And the A-1 sauce I’ll till be there!

It I’ll also go far to clean up the dead zone at the base of he Mississippi River where it feeds the gulf, too.

[Boogiemack]

55. OK so now what are we going to do with all those animals??? nt

[blugbox]

58. It's like the transition to electric vehicles

It's not like the whole world will suddenly switch overnight. It's going to be a long process and a gradual crossover. There will be plenty of time to phase out farm animals. The way I see it in the future would end up being most people eating lab grown, and eating a "real" piece of meat would be a more rare delicacy.

[PirateRo]

2. This should hv hit the American market ten years ago

Modern Meadows decided to produce wearable leather instead of food for the hungry.

[mtnsnake]

3. That's excellent. Another one, fishless fish, could also prove to be a great boon for wildlife &

the environment.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2419099/plant-based-fish-seafood-good-catch?utm_source=pocket-newtab#close

[renate]

35. Have you had Gardein's version?

It is SO GOOD.

Edited to say that it's a fish filet, not salmon-like or anything like that. But it really does taste like I remember the real thing to be like.

[mtnsnake]

53. No, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm glad you mentioned it

I bookmarked it and will look for it next time we go shopping. The only negative I see with some of the fishless fish products is that they are a little high in sodium. Still, if it's a way to prevent some damage to the fisheries and the oceans, it's worth it. The damage the fishing industry is doing to the seas and the wildlife within them is staggering.

[Meowmee]

4. I wonder if it will be any good

I became very ill while vegetarian and then vegan and would never do vegan again. It is not for everyone. I have tried plant based meats, the various ingredients made me ill and spiked blood sugar. A lot of foods do not have accurate carb counts either. I am quite limited in what I can eat now with multiple chronic conditions. I hope they don’t add grains and other unnecessary carbs into this.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. I too can't wait to try this.

[Hoyt]

7. I'm a picky eater, but would try this. Farmers might object though.

[Cicada]

8. I would love to eat meat again, after 32 years

I still vividly remember what it tastes like

I met a seafood salesman at a bar and explained that my standard was, can I hurt it by killing it. As an excellent salesman he immediately told me that clams, mussels, scallops have no central nervous system, so I eat them. But I still remember exactly what beef and chicken taste like, and would love to eat them again. Plus lab meat will reduce greenhouse gasses.

[Johnny2X2X]

25. We're fairly close to beef without a central nervous system

Probably in the next 20 years, Prime quality steaks will be grown in a lab with simple sides of beef hanging from hooks being grown and stimulated to the optimum fat content and taste, with no central nervous system at all. Within 40 years this will overtake raising cattle for beef as the most cost effective model. Chicken and pork too.

I've known some cows, they have personalities and they suffer. But if you want to see suffering, pig farms are a horror show. Pigs are smarter than your average dog, their capacity for suffering is higher than cows because of that in my opinion. It's disgusting how we treat animals to turn a profit. It's not necessary.

[Cicada]

27. Praise be to Johnny2x2x, here is Vox link to animal charities

This year everyone can deduct up to $300 given to charity even if they do not itemize.

Vox has ideas about good animal welfare charities. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/3/20992185/animal-welfare-best-charities-factory-farming

[Hermit-The-Prog]

48. You remember what it once tasted like

Factory chicken is about like eating cardboard. I gave up on it several years ago and only occasionally take a taste at the insistence of wife and son. Neither remembers the chickens we raised thirty years ago. Commercially, it's nothing like it used to be. Most of these poor creatures never touch the ground.

Factory beef is likewise lacking. Once in a while you can find some that isn't too fat, too rubber-like, tasteless or stinks up the place when cooked, but that's rare.

[pnwest]

9. I'm amazed at everyone who's willing to

eat this stuff. It seems Frankensteinish and weird and gross to me.

[Turin_C3PO]

19. I'm a little grossed out

by the idea of lab meat but it would be such a good thing for the planet if lab grown meat became the dominant way to consume meat.

[Arthur_Frain]

24. I'm betting there's a sharp age divide here between the wills and wonts.

nt

[Crunchy Frog]

28. I hate the cruelty of factory farming. I've been hoping for something like this for years.

I'm in favor of things that will lessen suffering.

[Dem2]

10. My initial reaction is one of feeling a little queasy

But I have to realize that besides being less cruel, the product is likely to have less dangerous chemicals in it.

It still kind of creeps me out - the idea of growing living animal cells in a lab for food.

[canetoad]

11. I get the appeal, the reasons for wanting a substitute

But I'm just as happy eating some beans and tofu with no disguises or decorations.

[BainsBane]

12. As an FYI

if people stop eating farm animals, the species go extinct. Human consumption is key to their survival as species.

[Coleman]

15. Thank you for this fact

What do we do with cows, pigs, chickens ...?

Will farmers continue to raise them? It will be costly, without any payback. Do we set them free?

They will be exterminated. Mass graves.

[Codeine]

17. They're going to be killed anyway.

And their offspring will be killed. And their offspring’s offspring will be killed, infinitum. Eventually the notion of dead animals as food will disappear, and the sooner the better. The final generation of food animals will be killed, but as they were going to be killed anyway that’s a silly objection.

[cwydro]

39. Well, I'll be keeping my feathered ladies as long as I live.

They live in comfort, free range, and provide me with eggs.

When they stop laying, they still live a life of luxury. I get new peeps in the spring this year.

Chickens are wonderful creatures. People don’t realize how smart they are.

[Codeine]

45. That's because you're a good person.

Lots of great people here.

[cwydro]

50. Two of mine are getting old. Either laying less often or hiding the eggs (a favorite pastime lol).

So I bought eggs for the first time in years. Whole Foods “pasture raised”. Blech. No taste at all. The color of the yolk is so different.

The dogs enjoyed the expensive store-bought eggs, but thank goodness the ladies are back in production.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

49. Chickens are helpful

They're thinking tillers -- sprinkle some corn or seeds around a grapevine and they will keep the weeds down and the soil tilled. While they are doing that, they will also reduce the bug population and apply some fine organic fertilizer.

I'm currently without chickens -- ducks are no substitute -- and waiting for the pandemic to subside. Our last hen was taken by a hawk.

[cwydro]

51. They are wonderful, though they decimated my watermelons and tomatoes one year.

I’ve lost them too along the way, coyotes, hawks...a weasel tried to take one of my ducks, but she survived.

I loved my ducks, but they seemed more vulnerable to predators than the ladies. The ladies are smart as can be, but yeah, I hate that day, when you’re walking around calling for one that hasn’t shown up at night...

[Turin_C3PO]

18. They were going to die anyway.

If we can stop countless generations and billions of animals from being slaughtered for consumption, that’s a huge win for the planet. I’m all for any way to achieve this goal.

[BainsBane]

29. A win how?

In terms of grain production? How about pasture raised livestock?

[hunter]

20. Aha! So that's what Soylent Green was all about.

Human consumption is key to our own survival as a species.

I believe that was the theme of H.G. Well's "The Time Machine" as well.

Eloi bacon! Yum!

[BainsBane]

30. It's a fact

That cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, and other animals that humans consume exist because humans raise them. Those animals will cease to exist if humans stop eating them, just as so many animal species in the wild have done. Being eaten is key to their survival as a species. It's not a joke.

[Codeine]

34. So?

Better that they fade into non-existence than countless generations of these living, breathing, feeling beings experience nothing but short lives of pain and torture and fear before being killed so people can ram double-handfuls of their flesh down greased gullets.

[GaYellowDawg]

42. Not pigs.

Pigs go feral easily and are survivors. I’d rather run up on a bear in the wild than a boar.

[hunter]

52. Me too.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/112721453

[Baclava]

13. Is it better than the pink slime McDonalds has been selling as chicken nuggets? Deep fry it, I'm in

[Withywindle]

14. This reminds me of my favorite Internet hoax of all time

CELEBRITY MEAT

http://www.bitelabs.org/

[MineralMan]

16. "Chicken Little"

If anyone remembers that Science Fiction reference, please mention it.

[PassingFair]

37. Frederik Pohl -- The Space Merchants

Fabulous book.

[hunter]

21. If I'm hungry for meat I can kill it myself.

But I haven't gone hunting or fishing for a long time.

These days I'm mostly vegetarian and my wife is mostly vegan.

For me it's mostly environmental reasons. Factory farmed meat has huge environmental impacts.

We don't expect our big dogs to be vegetarian, however, so maybe we are hypocrites.

The kibble we feed them is affordable because egg laying chickens and dairy cows get turned into meat when they are retired.

Lab grown meat dog kibble will probably be something very wealthy people feed their tiny dogs. It would probably have to be something special for cats to accept it.

[lunatica]

41. As long as it has the requisite nutrients and flavor

They’re talking about real meat, only grown in labs rather than slaughtered. The cost would be reduced because of no longer having to feed the livestock grown for food. The use of grains in kibble would be unnecessary because the cost of purchasing it would be low.

[MoonRiver]

22. Finally! So many innocent lives will be saved by this!

I don't know if I will try it though. Haven't eaten meat for 25 years. Not sure I could tolerate it now.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

23. What have you done to earn your place in this crowded world today ?

If you have heard it, you get it.

[jayfish]

32. Terrible That it Wasn't Renewed.

"Free the vaccine"

[RANDYWILDMAN]

33. Really???....Bummer

[jayfish]

40. It's, Creepily, On The Nose...

is soooo many places. ...and it finished filming before even a whiff of Covid.

[NurseJackie]

26. I wonder how the anti-GMO folks will feel about this.

I can see this as a niche-market item (along with the "Impossible Burger" or other veggie-burgers) but it's not going to replace delicious chicken, bacon, pork chops, steaks, brisket, ribs... or milk, cheese, eggs.

[Codeine]

36. I rarely worry what stupid people think about anything. nt

[NurseJackie]

38. You make a valid point.

[hunter]

54. I like Impossible Burgers.

And I use fake meat whenever I've got only one or two carnivores to cook for at family gatherings.

This Thanksgiving was strange for me. Just me and my wife. 100% vegan.

In ordinary times I cook a turkey and whatever meat people bring, usually salmon and sausage. And bacon for breakfast.

My wife is a front line health care professional. She's exposed to covid patients every day.

We can't visit any of our older carnivore relatives and they can't visit us. We "locked down" in early March.

Alexa, skip to 2021.

[jayfish]

31. "Bioreactors"

Sounds very cool and more than a bit sinister at the same time.




As far as the meat goes; I'll wait for the reviews to roll in.

[Brainfodder]

43. Better be a lot cheaper too!

Low prices matter!

Black lives matter!

Happy Holidays!

[mysteryowl]

47. I didn't see any mention of price, good question.

[KWR65]

44. Franken Food.

[mysteryowl]

46. Yep

[Yeehah]

56. I hope this works

It seems half our damn country is fenced off and full of cattle. The livestock industry is destroying our biosphere.

[mysteryowl]

57. And OMG when the smell!

When the slurry is cleaned out - the stench travels for miles and miles choking off the air.

So many problems with all the farm food, especially factory farms.