The end of the cow

[krispos42]

19. I figured this would happen a few years ago

There will be a handful of really tasty cows out there have have their DNA completely sequenced and form the basis for mass cloning. Not just mass cloning, but selective mass cloning... of the popular cuts of meat.

They won't mass-clone the whole animal, but the parts we consume. Basically, rows of petri dishes growing steaks, chops, roasts, etc. Some sort of nutrient fluid would be used to grow the meat, and probably use electrical stimulus to exercise the muscle cells into delicious, delicious shape.

The fluid could be created from landscaping or agricultural waste, or whatever. That part will probably be the grossest part.


The carbon footprint should be drastically reduced. And when you went to the store to buy some ribeye, you would be able to pick the name of the cow of a particular breed you wanted. So if you liked ribeyes from "Amy the cow", you'd always be able to buy cloned meat from Amy for your entire life as Amy's DNA is copied a million times a day to make cuts of meat.

Same for other animals, although with the importance that many cultures place on beef and the high carbon footprint of cows, I think cattle will be first.