Lab-Grown Burgers: The Future?

[Glassfan]

...I think you mean O157:H7. H1N1 is a flu strain.

Thanks for the correction - it's been quite a few years since I worked for McD's. But that raises further issues. Each "meat" has it's own particular disease. Trichinosis from undercooked ham, Salmonella from poultry, various parasites from fish - much of this could be eliminated by the new industrial process - protecting humans and the environment.

Not fine at all, but in Europe 'biological' products (ie cleaner products, with traditional methods- which cost more though) are successful in having a part of the market. Maybe we should get back to that.

We've always seen that as protectionism over here. Claiming higher quality to eliminate foreign competition, that is.

Fillet mignon may taste better, but I eat less expensive, lower grade meat far more often.

Is that an economic choice?

 

[Synobun]

Steak on the bone is much better than steak off. Gets you more even heat distribution and better flavor. I really do like the idea of lab grown meat; I'm just not sure it's versatile or inexpensive enough to be economically feasible. Even if you can replace fast food beef (which seems reasonable enough if any fast food restaurants would be willing to pay for more expensive beef liable to gross their consumers out), there would be plenty of people hankering for a higher quality ground.

It's doubtful that all cow farming would go out the window. We would need to keep up production of other things (such as milk) and of course there are the elitist farms which boast about their better cows and put a fancy name on their meat.

 

[bhsup]

Regarding the bones. My loyal doggie Suki loves her beef bones I get her.

 

[Glassfan]

Regarding the bones. My loyal doggie Suki loves her beef bones I get her.

As Synsensa implies, those would come from milk cows.

 

[NetGear]

It could help but the vat beef will most likely compete with lower grade meat and most of those come from what's left after all the premium cuts are made. So that's tough competition. Its gotta be cheaper than salvaged goods.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

That's what the research is supposed to do. Before genetic engineering we had to obtain insulin from animal carcasses. As the kinks are worked out it will become competitive.

 

[North King]

I think you two are missing the point that this is really the same as "traditional" meat. It uses bovine stem cells and muscle/fat layers. The only problem right now is to perfect the process, make it possible to add easy variance, and make it possible to be commercialized on a more common scale.

Not at all. I'm just saying that shouldn't matter.

I'd say that is a poor analogy, as why waste your money on the cheap cherry flavored-candies if you can get the real thing (real cherries, or higher quality cherry liquor candies)?

Believe it or not, I eat vegan as often as I eat meat, but when I eat meat.....it better be the good stuff, not the bottom dollar meat. Taste does matter to me.

Another analogy If tastes in food didn't matter, then we wouldn't have Filet Mignon, Kobe beef, etc.. etc... If taste didn't matter, we'd happily pay just as much for that as we would for the "extreme family bargain pack" of ground beef. But we don't operate like that, because taste does matter.

That's also a "poor" analogy, because the two foods serve different purposes. I'm not saying this meat will be super-versatile or replace all other meats. What I said was that this shouldn't matter, because if it tastes delicious, is cheap, and works for everyone involved, why not add it to the diet? You can keep the luxury foods around if you want.

I mean, until society views animal slaughter as a barbaric and disgusting practice, but at that point this technology will have presumably gotten to the point where it will make high grade beef all the time.

 

[Shaihulud]

Why grow beef when it can be human?

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

In fifty years, lab meat will become America's new number one enemy in the War on Drugs....

 

[North King]

Why grow beef when it can be human?

Same reason we'd grow beef instead of pork.

Like, actually the exact same reason.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Is that an economic choice?

Of course.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Awesome, the true industrialization of food production is a great prospect and so is any step in that direction.

 

[_random_]

Why grow beef when it can be human?

Why grow human flesh for food when it could be used for believable breast implants?

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

Why grow human flesh for food when it could be used for believable breast implants?

That I wholeheartedly support!

 

[Quackers]

I would get it if it was a) identical to the real deal, b) was cheaper then the genuine article. I would love to buy a proper fillet steak for 50p. Atm they are like £7:50 for one in my local supermarket, which is just a premium on top of a premium on top of another premium of the maximium i'm willing to pay