Lab grown meat... your thoughts?
Aug 7th 2013, 8:51 am
#31
MODERATOR
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: Dubai
Posts: 6,373
Re: Lab grown meat... your thoughts?
The argument that isn't not natural demonstrates a poor understanding of biology and the history of human diet. Almost all foods we eat have been selectively bred over millennia. Corn, wheat, potatoes and rice are all far removed from their 'natural' states, long before we figured out how to speed up the process in a lab. Domesticated animals have evolved differently due to being kept by humans and a pretty much dependant on us now. I suppose it's ok to slaughter animals in their millions every day (and too often still using methods from the dark ages to cater to religious and cultural sentiment) but not ok to develop ways of cloning flesh without needed an animal to live and suffer and die, with half the water and 10% of the land needed. Gosh us humans are logical bunch aren't we? I'm sure the same technology when used to grow new cloned organs and limbs will not be refused by the not-natural crowd just as they don't refuse their insulin, antibiotics and erectile dysfunction medication.
If we want natural we can go hunting for wild animals and gather wild fruit and veg. That lifestyle might support a 100 million at most and I doubt most people today could spend six hours a day finding their next meal when most seem incapable of killing a chicken or camping without a ton of gear. Organic farming might be able to support 2 billion billion. I don't see four billion people volunteering to die beyond that point.
In all honesty though tackling waste should be the highest priority right now rather than waiting for natural identical lab grown meat or engineered super grains to come along (because they will meet fierce resistance from people with little understanding of biology and diet) - no one need go hungry at today's technology levels. We have a surplus of food right now but love eating too much of it and wasting the rest.
N.
If we want natural we can go hunting for wild animals and gather wild fruit and veg. That lifestyle might support a 100 million at most and I doubt most people today could spend six hours a day finding their next meal when most seem incapable of killing a chicken or camping without a ton of gear. Organic farming might be able to support 2 billion billion. I don't see four billion people volunteering to die beyond that point.
In all honesty though tackling waste should be the highest priority right now rather than waiting for natural identical lab grown meat or engineered super grains to come along (because they will meet fierce resistance from people with little understanding of biology and diet) - no one need go hungry at today's technology levels. We have a surplus of food right now but love eating too much of it and wasting the rest.
N.
Aug 7th 2013, 9:39 am
#32
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Disneyland, Dubai
Posts: 15,887
Re: Lab grown meat... your thoughts?
The argument that isn't not natural demonstrates a poor understanding of biology and the history of human diet. Almost all foods we eat have been selectively bred over millennia. Corn, wheat, potatoes and rice are all far removed from their 'natural' states, long before we figured out how to speed up the process in a lab. Domesticated animals have evolved differently due to being kept by humans and a pretty much dependant on us now. I suppose it's ok to slaughter animals in their millions every day (and too often still using methods from the dark ages to cater to religious and cultural sentiment) but not ok to develop ways of cloning flesh without needed an animal to live and suffer and die, with half the water and 10% of the land needed. Gosh us humans are logical bunch aren't we? I'm sure the same technology when used to grow new cloned organs and limbs will not be refused by the not-natural crowd just as they don't refuse their insulin, antibiotics and erectile dysfunction medication.
If we want natural we can go hunting for wild animals and gather wild fruit and veg. That lifestyle might support a 100 million at most and I doubt most people today could spend six hours a day finding their next meal when most seem incapable of killing a chicken or camping without a ton of gear. Organic farming might be able to support 2 billion billion. I don't see four billion people volunteering to die beyond that point.
In all honesty though tackling waste should be the highest priority right now rather than waiting for natural identical lab grown meat or engineered super grains to come along (because they will meet fierce resistance from people with little understanding of biology and diet) - no one need go hungry at today's technology levels. We have a surplus of food right now but love eating too much of it and wasting the rest.
N.
If we want natural we can go hunting for wild animals and gather wild fruit and veg. That lifestyle might support a 100 million at most and I doubt most people today could spend six hours a day finding their next meal when most seem incapable of killing a chicken or camping without a ton of gear. Organic farming might be able to support 2 billion billion. I don't see four billion people volunteering to die beyond that point.
In all honesty though tackling waste should be the highest priority right now rather than waiting for natural identical lab grown meat or engineered super grains to come along (because they will meet fierce resistance from people with little understanding of biology and diet) - no one need go hungry at today's technology levels. We have a surplus of food right now but love eating too much of it and wasting the rest.
N.
Aug 7th 2013, 9:39 am
#33
Bored liberal
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Over there ----->
Posts: 13,713
Re: Lab grown meat... your thoughts?
Returning to foraging food is impractical in so many ways, but creating everything in a lab is hardly an ideal solution. Soylent Green anyone?
The issues are distribution, good farming practices and less wastage. The latter being a tad ironic considering what goes on in the GCC, especially at this time of year.
As ever, the Daily Mash, hits on how to make lab grown meat more popular with many..
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...-2013080677900
The issues are distribution, good farming practices and less wastage. The latter being a tad ironic considering what goes on in the GCC, especially at this time of year.
As ever, the Daily Mash, hits on how to make lab grown meat more popular with many..
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...-2013080677900
