this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2024
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As a thinking experiment, let us consider that on the 1st of January of 2025 it is announced that an advance making possible growing any kind of animal tissue in laboratory conditions as been achieved and that it is possible to scale it in order to achieve industrial grade production level.

There is no limit on which animal tissues can be grown, so, any species is achieveable, only being needed a small cell sample from an animal to start production, and the cultivated tissues are safe for consumption.

There won't be any perceiveable price change to the end consummer, as the growing is a complex and labour intensive process, requiring specialized equipments and personnel.

Would you change to this new diet option?

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[–] slowroll@r.nf 4 points 2 days ago

still waiting for the mass to consume it and see what happen, also waiting for the price too

[–] M1ch431@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

I would sooner argue for eating insects vs. lab-grown protein made by a corporation. I have no trust for corporations to produce safe and emergent solutions to the problems we face as a species and world. They have no incentive to do the right thing and put the brakes on when things are looking bad.

[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I always assume any hypothetical beneficial scenario is happening under socialism or another system that discards the profit motive because while we're dreaming might as well dream big.

[–] M1ch431@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

Just trying to ground things into our current reality. But yeah, I think in a world where there is an incentive to do good, it's a no-brainer that we could do stuff like this in a lab and in a much more efficient way than agriculture or raising livestock/etc. for protein sources.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

And the insects would be provided by whom if not a huge corpos? You create some false equivalence here, it's the ages old struggle of lowering the food costs of feeding workers by making us eat worse things. Potatoes instead of wheat, highly process foods, fats and sugars in everything and ultimate fucking step is looming: eating bugs. You can't go worse than that unless it's a fucking soylent green which i can guarantee you would be somewhere next in the line after you allow the mega rich to feed you bugs.

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[–] qyron@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

As someone that has the genetic trait that enables me to smell insects... thank you, but no thank you.

Regarding corporations controlling lab meat production: regulation, control, overview.

[–] PresidentCamacho@lemm.ee 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Those are fairy tail words in the US

[–] qyron@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

There is more to the world than the US.

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[–] orgrinrt@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

We don’t eat red meat at all, so I would probably try it out fairly quickly. Actually we don’t eat chicken or the like either, only fish, which is something I miss a bit more now and then. We have a dried product called NoChicken that is actually pretty good, so that’d probably be sufficient for me to wait a bit to see how it goes long term (I.e is it truly safe to consume).

But every now and then, I miss game. Moose and wood grouse mainly. That’d probably hook me enough to try it quickly.

[–] DJKJuicy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago

Is it good? Like does it actually taste like steak? Economical to produce? Is it better for the economy and the environment, Hell yes, then.

Imagine a perfectly marbled, perfectly rectangular, gristle free Wagyu quality steak that you could sear in some butter in a cast iron and serve right up.

No animal had to be raised and slaughtered. Less drain on resources. Less land usage.

I'm not convinced that the technology will ever get there, but what do I know. I'm just some dude on the internet.

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 days ago

Kind of depends on if it's good, tbh.

If it's just mediocre, I might try and work it in some meals where I'd use lower quality meat (e.g. sauces, sausage, burgers, etc). Then I'd just get a good real steak from a local ranch a few times a year to scratch that itch.

If the difference is not really perceivable or better, then hell yeah. Easy choice. I might even venture into other meats that I wouldn't eat otherwise like lamb, dog, horse, or even human.

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Yes, of course. I'll be among the first in line to try it. Anything to reduce our dependence on livestock is a good idea in my book. It would save me the trouble of having to go vegan. Plus I bet guilt-free meat tastes so much better.

[–] synae@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Lots of comments along the lines of "only if it tastes the same" but no one seems to consider the possibility of it tasting better. Like what if lab grown meat is an orgasm for your mouth?

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[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 5 points 2 days ago

Absolutely. I'll take grown meat over slaughtered. Last i heard they basically just need to make the equipment cheaper to have it be viable. I'm awaiting it.

The day it's on the shelf is the day I'll buy it.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

It would be a novelty at best, though I'm not a big meat eater (flexatarian). I'd rather have tempeh or plant based meat

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

I will let you all try it first. Going to pass on crazy mutation diseases.

[–] Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Instantly! I'm already drooling at the door of every meat lab hoping for the day I can get perfect texture meats from any possibly creature to potentially cook with. Imagine the possibilities! Fried dodo, elephant steak, shark kabob, all without the moral, ethical, or biological risks that come with consuming extinct animals, sapient beings, or super predators. The culinary world will never be more shook!

[–] DmMacniel 4 points 2 days ago

making meat green? Sure, it would be cheaper and less destructive.

[–] leonardodede3@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

Only if the culture medium for the meat cells is not made of living animals.

its all about cost. The plant based while not as good as meat is decent and if cost competitive I would use it to at least reduce met consumption. lab grown at price parity would almost get me to switch. Problem is my wife is turned off by it so that will be a complication. crickets are fine to me in food so processed you would not notice.

[–] Chainweasel@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

The only question I have is about prions, which are just misfolded proteins. As long as the quality control is good enough I don't have to worry about that, then I'd have no problem with it.

[–] MrVilliam@lemm.ee 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

Without hesitation. If the taste, consistency, nutrition, and price are all the same, then the only differences would be whether an animal was bred to suffer until slaughter and the likelihood of illness from consumption. I'm assuming that stuff like e coli would be nearly impossible through this. Plus less demand on farm meat means less chance of coronavirus mutations like the 2009 swine flu outbreak. And less of a need for the real estate, feed, and potable water to grow those animals. I must be missing something because I'm struggling to see a downside here.

I'm sure that, in the same way that there's still a market for objectively inferior exploitatively mined diamonds as a status symbol instead of lab created diamonds, there would still be a market for rEaL meat where "you can really taste the suffering" or whatever.

Now here's the more interesting question that actually has me on the fence: if "growing any kind of animal tissue" is what has been achieved, where would you stand on consuming lab-grown human meat? Is it immoral? Are there risks? Should such a thing be restricted in some way like alcohol or handguns? What would be the proper etiquette and presentation and everything if it became socially accepted? What wine would pair best with it? Or would it be more of a beer pairing? If this weren't socially acceptable, would no-suffering chimpanzee meat be okay?

If it only takes a small cell sample, would it be unethical to dig up extinct animals like mammoths or dodo specifically to enjoy their meat? If that's okay, and it chimps are okay, would neanderthals be okay to eat? Where would we draw the line?

[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

I’m sure that, in the same way that there’s still a market for objectively inferior exploitatively mined diamonds as a status symbol instead of lab created diamonds, there would still be a market for rEaL meat where “you can really taste the suffering” or whatever.

I don't think the value is sadism in itself, but the supposed natural purity; it's the sense of authenticity. They'd be more likely to market it like "As nature intended", "no nasty chemicals, organic", "no added dihydrogen monoxide", like that. You can play on the silly fear of scary chemical names.

I suppose animal furs is a relevant case study. Synthetic alternatives exist, but the real thing is considered a status icon by idiots.

That all said, fuck those cruel idealistic pieces of shit and the suffering they enable.

Now here’s the more interesting question that actually has me on the fence: if “growing any kind of animal tissue” is what has been achieved, where would you stand on consuming lab-grown human meat? Is it immoral?

Human meat, the inevitable question!

I see literally no ethical problem with eating non-sentient lab-grown meat, and I don't see why it being human flesh should be treated specially. I'm not even trying to equivocate humans and other animals, I don't consider human meat to be a human being, so there's no farming torture I'm concerned about, and I care about the meat's death as much as I care about a jellyfish or grass being squished. It's not like they're farming an entire conscious human like The Matrix, that would be uneconomical. (that said, what if humans were lab-grown for scientific research like lab animals? That's a more confronting question to me!)

Are there risks?

I'm no expert, but I suspect human diseases are more transferable than other animal meat diseases, so that's a consideration. Contamination is always a concern, I'd assume.

What would be the proper etiquette and presentation and everything if it became socially accepted?

I don't care. I can buy chicken nuggets and eat them with my elbows, if I want. I'll do that with human meat too. I already side with Frank Reynolds' perspective on the whole 'respect for the dead' tradition, put me up on a mountain for vultures and flowers like the Zoroastrianists, but this isn't even a sentient, let alone social, being. The only real etiquette I would consider is to make sure people aren't unknowingly served it, same with pork and other meats, because that could be unreasonably cruel to someone who is alive.

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[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

As a vegetarian, I wouldn't care much for it. I feel like the plant-based alternatives have got everything covered I could want from meat (and more, if you look beyond Western cuisine). And then I just feel like it's hard to compete with them in terms of sustainability, efficiency, price etc.. In particular, I also really cannot be fucked to put more perishable things into my fridge. I had bought these meatball-like things for Christmas, but didn't eat the whole load on the first go, so had to cram them in a few days later. Meanwhile my lentils, beans, TVP, peas, nuts etc. just sit there for months, not needing any of my attention.

[–] CaptainBasculin@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

Depends on whether if it can be integrated into any of my recipes; or could be used in different recipes that taste good. Since it matches the price criteria for me; all that remains is the taste.

[–] AnnaFrankfurter@lemmy.ml -4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

You know the difference between a white vegan/vegetarian vs a non white, they don't try to find something that tastes exactly like a meat. There are a lots and lots of dishes that are 100% vegan/vegetarian and taste much much better and don't pretend to be meat of any sort.

If you are so tempted by the taste of the meat then just eat it.Environment isn't going to get any better just because you stopped eating meat, the animal cruelty isn't going to stop because of you.

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[–] nichtburningturtle 2 points 2 days ago

Sure. Custom meat, without the unnecessary parts sounds great.

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