Would You Eat Shmeat?

Shmeat refers to a “sheet of lab-grown” meat. To make it, tissue engineers take stem cells from animals and place them in a nutrient-rich culture that, previously, had to be made from substances from animals, such as blood. But scientists have developed a non-animal nutrient option that, like photo synthesis, uses sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow the tissue. So far, says Mother Jones, they’ve only been able to grow meat cells 2.5 centimeters long and 0.7 centimeters wide. A recent report estimated that the world’s first in vitro burger could cost a half a million dollars, a far cry from the items on McDonald’s dollar menu.

Scientists met last week in a workshop in Gothenburg, Sweden, about what needs to be done to make manufacturing shmeat viable. I’ve been a vegetarian for the past 30 years and personally am not interesting in eating even a sliver of shmeat (or of any sort of meat, in general). But, as Mother Jones notes, with the world population continuing to grow, and per capita meat consumption (especially in China) grows along with it, lab-grown meat could be a viable option. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that meat consumption will double between 2000 and 2050.

Even more, lab-grown meat also holds some real benefits for the environment:

We wouldn’t need to use as much land for agriculture (both for raising livestock and for growing their feed). We wouldn’t have to use all the water that meat production requires, or the pesticides, hormones, or other problematic additives so common in industrial agriculture.

Indeed, a recent study from Oxford University and the University of Amsterdam found that, when compared to regular beef, synthetic meat would:

Use 45 percent less energy overall
Create 96 percent less greenhouse gas emissions
Require 99 percent less land
Use 96 percent less water

And we could reduce the threat of animal-to-human diseases, like bird flu, E. coli, and salmonella. It would also be possible to control things like the fat, cholesterol, or calorie content of a synthetic-meat product.

PETA is offering a $1 million reward for whoever can both create in vitro chicken, and make it commercially viable, by June 30, 2012 — in less than a year. The contest has been going on for three years and has stoked disputes within PETA. Is it all right to eat meat if it is created in vitro rather than by slaughtering animals? Or would it be better for people just to not eat meat at all?

Mother Jones notes that the real challenge for those environmental scientists, ethicists, social scientists and economists who are trying to produce “Franken-meat” and to make it economically feasible is, perhaps, a more basic, less philosophical, concern. There’s still an ingrained “yuck” factor about eating what is, indeed, ersatz meat; about chowing down on what could more properly be dubbed “meat product.” Researchers say they need more funding to continue their efforts to develop lab-grown meat. Might those funds be rather, or even better, used to encourage people to learn how to eat and live without meat?

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Photo by Nina Pope

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Mit W.

2:01PM PDT on Mar 11, 2012

I've tried fried grasshoppers. Shmeat would be a piece of cake. Or maybe a meatloaf.

(Fried grasshoppers: You can't just have one ! Tastes like bacon)

send a green star

Amanda J.

2:22AM PST on Feb 22, 2012

I think it's not viable to tell people to stop eating meat. That's never going to happen but what would help greatly is if people didn't keep breeding. There has to come a time when the powers that be have to say one child per couple. Obviously it would be unnacceptable to tell people to stop breeding but somethings gotta give otherwise things are going to get a lot worse. Look at the state of the US with their unemployment and homeless children on the streets and the state of our country with unemployment and people losing their homes. If the population keeps increasing, unemployment is just going to keep rising. I never had children and frankly I'm glad because I would be fearful of my children's future.

Grainne O.

5:18PM PST on Feb 21, 2012

It's been so long since I've eaten meat, I can't imagine wanting to eat real or fake stuff, but if this saves animals in future, well and good.

Simon B.

6:10AM PST on Feb 21, 2012

I would Absolutely eat Shmeat! Shmeat is the wonder-meat of the 21st Century!

It's all very well for people to look backwards to simpler times and think "why can't we go back to that?" Because it was harder, and more time-consuming, and you were all used up by 60. Now, it's easier, faster, and you can still look half your age at 70!

Oh sure, if you don't like meat, you'll probably HATE Shmeat. But for the 99%ers who like an occasional burger, or a Sunday Roast, this could slash costs and put profits through the roof.

And NOBODY IS SAYING that this is going to replace ALL MEAT. There's still plenty of room to raise a few cows, a few chickens, and do the whole "Organic Farming" thing. It's just, this removes the problem of finite meat resources, and paves the way for a Meat City future.

Anton K.

7:43PM PST on Feb 20, 2012

Shmeat is made from people!

Carolyn I.

6:32AM PST on Nov 21, 2011

Does anyone remember the movie Soylent Green? Shmeat, Ewwwwwww!

Teckla W.

1:31PM PST on Nov 18, 2011

Yuck!

Zoe B.

6:02AM PST on Nov 15, 2011

CONTD to obtain samples for blasting/modifying.

Bear in mind that when you support the corporations that peddle GM foodstuffs, you are EMPOWERING labs that use animals to justify using more.
http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-animalsandge.html
http://taosdining.com/Food/genetically-modified-foods-how-dangerous-are-they.html
the same people making your tofu are breeding chickens with no feathers to make life easier for abbatoir workers!!

5:56AM PST on Nov 15, 2011

Marie, the deal was, i didn't bother indulging your complete madness, and you would just let me ignore you. Remember after a long tirade, you'll be the one accusing me of hounding you.

did I say all???did I have it in capitals?? nope. I said 90%

the links... well, as well as researching this to make a living, I've found you a few sources to riffle through, yet I doubt you're interested enough, it seems you only care about your own agenda and are closed to learning.

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/who_benefits_from_gm_crops.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jul/26/gmcrops
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs084
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/ (these figures are US, but when you average them out with those of India/China, and other producers, you'll fall at 87-90 percent)
http://www.saynotogmos.org/facts-and-figures-about-GMOs.pdf
to be specific... 90% of SOY is MADE (engineered) by Monsanto http://www.naturalnews.com/032370_GM_soy_children.html
Tofu, this one is particularly interesting, since it's from a tofu-pushing site
http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVersion/pages/GM-tofu.html
http://vegetarilin.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/genetically-modified-tofu/
As for the blasting with DNA strands.. if you understand how genetic engineering works at all, this needs no explaining.

Bear in mind, the shmeat itself will be made of animal DNA, therefore, somewhere, in the background, there will be a pig/lamb/calf/chicken being prodded with needles to

Past Member .

4:41PM PDT on Nov 3, 2011

Oh really, Zoe?? Care to provide evidence that ALL tofu/soy and wheat is "blasted" with "animal DNA strands"?? Unbelievable how some people will spout off such ludicrous disinformation.