-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
The first lab-grown burger revealed
- Thread starter brian577
- Start date
- Status
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
Because as someone else stated, leather is already produced on a massive scale since we kill the animals for food to begin with.
Even then anything that can lead to higher profits will be favored, regardless of impact on human health or the environment, as is currently the case. This meat will not magically make companies sit on potential higher profit margins. Whatever concoction can be used to increase growth rate, keep it on the shelves longer, make it look better, etc., will be used, and now they'll be able to reverse the tables and say that anyone opposing this is an enemy of the environment and in favor of killing animals.
Eat meat as it is, or eat meat as whatever the industry determines it should be?
Just like GMOs and nuclear energy, it's another tool that will ultimately be used carelessly under a system aimed at increasing profit margins over safety and the equal betterment of human society.
All these great advantages and your not even considering the one big disadvantage. Taste. No one's going to eat it if it doesn't taste good and it currently doesn't and even if it becomes passable for a low quality meat it's unlikely to ever replace the more expensive (and better tasting) real deal. And what about other forms of meat? You think think people are going to give up lamb chops, chicken wings etc.
RobotChant
Member
I can see this as part of the future. Its just a question of what segment will it fall into. It could be a low quality meat filler product or a high end delicacy, possibly both.
Imagine a high end restaurant commissioning a certain blend of cells and growth cycle to tailor the taste to their menu. Or buying your own grow-at-home kit and growing your own steaks. Or it could just be taco bell meat.
Imagine a high end restaurant commissioning a certain blend of cells and growth cycle to tailor the taste to their menu. Or buying your own grow-at-home kit and growing your own steaks. Or it could just be taco bell meat.
I see zero reason to think this would be the case. What makes good meat good and why is it not possible to ever be able to replicate those conditions in a lab?
You mean burgers from fast food joints are not synthetic?
I actually don't mind synthetic meat, if they prove that it is safe in the long run to eat....
Things like mcnuggets and chicken fillets are pretty synthetic already to me already, so I don't see the difference...
So, is this vegetarian because no animals were killed in the process?
I actually don't mind synthetic meat, if they prove that it is safe in the long run to eat....
Things like mcnuggets and chicken fillets are pretty synthetic already to me already, so I don't see the difference...
So, is this vegetarian because no animals were killed in the process?
GraveRobberX
Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
LyleLanley
Banned
What if we already are but we just don't know it yet?
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
Burger are made with ground beef (if any), and ground beef is usually industrial residue. This wouldn't be.
Something will need to be done with the industrial meat residue which would be replaced by this. Not sure what would be done with it, I'm sure there's various uses, but whatever replaces it will bring in less cash on its own, otherwise it would already go towards that end.
For now, only forced adoption of lab-meat would push fast-food chains to use them, as real ground meat will remain cheaper for as long as animals are killed on an industrial scale.
And this would be a good thing IMO. I see no downside at all.
jadedm17
Member
Glad to see this technology coming along. It's a great idea in theory - animals won't have to be systematically raised in horrible conditions solely to be killed for food, and humans won't have to worry about how much (sometimes literal) shit ends up in their food due to the aforementioned horrible conditions.
Plus it's much, much more efficient and humane than raising animals and using all sorts of fucked up ways to make their muscles grotesquely huge for greater meat yield.
Prove to me that eating grown meat won't have any long-term health effects, and I'm totally on board.
Plus it's much, much more efficient and humane than raising animals and using all sorts of fucked up ways to make their muscles grotesquely huge for greater meat yield.
Prove to me that eating grown meat won't have any long-term health effects, and I'm totally on board.
Kitsunebaby
Member
I was responding to the assertion that the availability of synthetic meat would result in the outlawing of natural meat. Fur still isn't outlawed despite the availability of faux fur and the fact that humans don't generally ingest mink or chinchilla (though I'd happily give them a try). Natural meat might become a luxury but I doubt it would ever be outlawed. Especially since that would mean outlawing hunting.
Also, fois gras isn't banned where I'm from.
And? Assuming it's even possible to proximate the taste their will always be people who claim to be able to tell the difference and you never answered my second question.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
So as a hypothetical, what are we going to do about all the existing animals bred for food if we stop farming them at some point? Will we put most of them down, or just let them run wild somewhere, or start a cow welfare system or something?
R
Retro_
Unconfirmed Member
Eating natural red meat has been shown to have positive correlations with certain cancers though...
LyleLanley
Banned
It's so stupid that fur and leather haven't been outlawedHonestly, wearing a fur coat isn't natural or essential like eating. It's barbaric killing animals to wear their fur when we have animal-free alternatives. But this is a bit off topic I guess.
May as well do something with that Fur/Leather if we're killing the animals for their meat anyways.
Phoenix
Member
Yep. As the population goes up and the emerging markets start being able to afford more of this stuff, the ability to scale livestock simply outstrips the carrying capacity of the planet. Sooner or later we will be eating faux meat - and to some extent we already do.
If you can't tell the difference in taste/texture - I'm not sure most people will really care. Already people are eating a lot of turkey bacon instead of regular bacon because the cost of bacon is now 5x that of the equivalent in turkey. Sure people notice the difference, and they keep buying the turkey and pre-cooked processed equivalents.
Like chinchillas?
They will still be around, this will just lessen the dependence on them.
JordanN
Banned
Ship them to third world countries? Or organize the world's largest barbeque.
gutter_trash
Banned
you taste it first then tell me how it goes
Then you can continue to eat cow.
This may be a boon for third world countries. May make meat cheaper and allow them to access more protein in their diet.
fizzelopeguss
Banned
It's either this or soylent green, make your choice.
Kitsunebaby
Member
Which one tastes better?
Freshmaker
I am Korean.
You'd better stop eating wings if you do. Those actually do increase the risk of cancer.
So I've been watching them put this thing together for over a month now.
It looks more like a hockey puck than a burger, and it isn't even ground up or chopped. So why are they calling it a burger instead of steak?
If they called it steak and did that...but they won't probably because it will look and taste nothing like steak, and hides well inside of a bun?
It looks more like a hockey puck than a burger, and it isn't even ground up or chopped. So why are they calling it a burger instead of steak?
If they called it steak and did that...but they won't probably because it will look and taste nothing like steak, and hides well inside of a bun?
I guess burger just sounds appetizing and iconic.
"Petri-dish grown cultured bovine stem sample #366....Mmmmm delicious."
You got to lull the masses somehow.
outunderthestars
Banned
This seems alot like hitting the bullseye of the wrong target.
Why not just encourage the reduction of meat consumption?
I eat at this vegan place twice a week, and they make a vegan bacon cheeseburger that is absurdly good.
Why not just encourage the reduction of meat consumption?
I eat at this vegan place twice a week, and they make a vegan bacon cheeseburger that is absurdly good.
This seems alot like hitting the bullseye of the wrong target.
Why not just encourage the reduction of meat consumption?
I eat at this vegan place twice a week, and they make a vegan bacon cheeseburger that is absurdly good.
The only way to do that is to provide an alternative that is deemed worthy by the masses.
Vegan trickery and tofu isn't seen as a suitable replacement to the majority of people.
Synthetic beef that tastes and texture of beef would win,
davepoobond
you can't put a price on sparks
i think we'll see more "organic" and "specialty" beef brands.
i also think another benefit to synthetic meats will be no(?) pharmaceutical drugs or whatever that is usually given to animals.
i personally don't know why people would prefer eating real beef as opposed to synthetic as long as the taste and the nutrients you would normally get from beef are there.
if people know what kind of drugs and the huge amount of waste of energy that goes into making a pound of beef, i think people would be surprised.
i'm in no way saying meat is bad, though. i enjoy it, and have nothing against breeding animals for slaughter (as long as its humane)
but... its NOT a cow. and that's why it could be potentially better. You would have to say that the synthetic stuff would actually be "worse" for you than the sum of whatever drugs/etc they put into normal animals for me to not prefer the synthetic stuff from a logical standpoint.
Dark Octave
Banned
Nobody is claiming anything. I'm clearly shooting out a theory and trying to make a point that the last thing we need is even more synthetic stuff going into our bodies, especially the basis of most people's daily meals. Isn't the stuff they put in meat bad enough, now the whole damn cow is one big chemical makeup?
I just don't see any good coming from this besides someone trying to make an easier buck.
And who is going to tell you that, the people that make it? The FDA can't get their shit together with the food table and didn't they just declare pizza an official vegetable? We aren't meant to survive on chemicals. I'm no scientist so of course please don't take what I say as law or get offended by it as if I'm actually going to stop this from happening. We survive on real plants and real meat, not protein toothpaste pressed into a steak shape with a plastic T-bone in the middle. This is going to open the floodgates to something bad and it can't be healthy to eat that day in and day out for an entire lifetime.
I'd be a very gradual shift, i'd imagine.
I say sacrifice them all to the Gods, in one sitting, that ought to make an impression on them!
davepoobond
you can't put a price on sparks
oh, so the same FDA that approves the meat we eat?
right....
i'm not sure what you mean. things we eat get broken down into their chemical components in our digestive system. i'm sure you've taken a biology class.
the only reason we have evolved to have teeth is because of mechanical separation. if we had evolved as a race that injected chemical compounds we found laying around, i'm sure we wouldn't have teeth at this point in our evolution.
now, tell me what the difference between "real" plants and "real" meat is when its broken down into its chemical components?
it doesnt matter if its "real" (as if we're imagining something?) or synthetic. It is what is INSIDE the food you are eating.
synthetic meat may give you lupus, but real beef might give you mad cow disease or food poisoning just as easily. or you can be eating cow injected with steroids and growth hormones that affect you more than synthetic meat ever could.
unfortunately for us we're going to have to build and expand on these sorts of technologies because if we ever plan on going into space and colonizing other planets, THIS is what is going to allow us to do that. And if we can't leave the planet because one of the many intricacies of allowing us to survive in space are not present because people are "scared" of genetically modified food and synthetic foods, then we're just going to be doomed to extinction.
we're not going to take a herd of cows into space, or pack a rocket full of fresh beef.
now, what i would find fascinating as it is excruciatingly foul, would be some wacky scientist trying to grow synthetic human tissue just to eat it. but i'm sure that will happen.
E-Cat
Banned
"Critics say that eating less meat would be an easier way to tackle predicted food shortages".
I love how the "critics" are living in a world of make-believe with flowers and bells and leprechauns. Lab-grown meat will happen eventually, it's just a matter of when its production can be scaled up enough to meet the demand. The demand will in large part depend on the taste, I'd imagine.
I love how the "critics" are living in a world of make-believe with flowers and bells and leprechauns. Lab-grown meat will happen eventually, it's just a matter of when its production can be scaled up enough to meet the demand. The demand will in large part depend on the taste, I'd imagine.
NekoFever
Member
Stop intensively breeding them so there won't be such artificially high numbers, for one thing.
What will probably happen in a future where this becomes feasible on a large scale is that synthetic meat becomes the everyday thing, but a 'natural' steak becomes a luxury that you might get in a restaurant. An analogy I can think of is pearls, where cultured pearls are indistiguishable from natural ones except under an x-ray, but natural pearls are still more expensive and desirable.
You're evidently not a scientist if you think we aren't meant to survive on chemicals.
Protip: Literally everything is made up of chemicals.
fierrotlepou
Member
Sounds like a great idea. Most people seem to forget that this might be a great solution to overcome an impending doom.
iamshadowlark
Banned
I really have a hard time understanding the moral highground that comes with not eating meat.
Lab meat would probably be a smarter, more cost efficient approach to food, but I don't see where it's supposed to be the "right" thing to do.
Lab meat would probably be a smarter, more cost efficient approach to food, but I don't see where it's supposed to be the "right" thing to do.
Ethics approval, how dos it werk?
- Status