Buzz from the community

Jun 30, 2008 6:40 PM

PETA pursues phony poultry

Vegetarians, beware. Or be...happy?

PETA is offering $1 million to the scientist who can develop a process for creating in vitro meat in mass quantities. The science behind this involves taking one cell of animal meat and replicating it, thusly creating [fake] 'animal' tissue (meat) that can be manufactured and marketed in the American supermarket (and beyond.) This is a very difficult issue to tackle, but it certainly serves to illustrate PETA's commitment to animals rather than the environment. For many, the idea of eating meat that was grown in a laboratory is a troubling idea.

I wonder what Michael Pollan would have to say about this...

What are your thoughts?

Find out more:

PETA press release
"PETA: I'm a vetegarian, but I want meat," Wired
"Video: Would you eat lab grown meat?" Wired
"Dot Earth Diet: In-Vitro Meat, Home-Grown Greens?" NY Times, Dot Earth Blog

Image from Flickr user rumpleteaser shared with a Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Comments (4)

Hmm..

Submitted by donc on Tue, 07/01/2008 - 07:11.

I guess I understand why PETA is doing it, but as a meat / BBQ guy, I would be looking for something that is beyond approximating the texture of real meat..

...tasty?

Submitted by DoeJec on Tue, 07/01/2008 - 08:33.

I'm with you on that, Don. I don't doubt that we can create in vitro meat that is virtually indistinguishable from real meat with all of our technology and science, but I could never eat it knowing it was grown in a lab. To that point, I wonder how energy-intensive the in vitro meat manufacturing process would be...

Freaky

Submitted by Jlynnefrank on Wed, 07/02/2008 - 14:00.

yeah, I try to be "meat light", as I slowly transition away from it. However, I will stick to my amazingly tasty Soy Corndogs(yay Morningstar) before I try lab made phony bologna.