Saturday July 4, 2009, 2:48 pm
Imagine that, meat that’s grown without ever being part of an animal. How unnatural is that? What possible consequences and ramifications might that have for human health? Judging by how GMOs are being handled by the regulatory community, we’re not likely to find out what effects this new form of artificial “meat” will have until it’s “tested” on unsuspecting customers. Also, going by the GMO marketing precedent, we’re perhaps unlikely to see labelling to indicate whether the meat we’re buying came from an animal or a vat.

And now, the Wired stories — first “Scientists Flesh Out Plans to Grow and Sell Test Tube Meat”:

“In five to 10 years, supermarkets might have some new products in the meat counter: packs of vat-grown meat that are cheaper to produce than livestock and have less impact on the environment.......................

Saturday July 4, 2009, 3:07 pm
Yuck.... Thanks Cowboss!

Saturday July 4, 2009, 4:18 pm
I feel like we're on Star Trek Voyageur standing in the lunch line in front of their replicator. I said it before and I'll say it again........that's NOT food. But the masses will win in the end. If cheap is what they want then cheap is what they'll get. If the masses cannot be convinced it isn't food, then I at least want to have a choice.

Saturday July 4, 2009, 5:14 pm
Yes, but it is and may well turn out to be the answer to all the "farm animal ethical treatment" problems. Funny how the "farmers", by virtue of their unabashed acceptance of Pharmas and GMOs may be the "pawn" in this sad sack of a "conspiracy" by the big boys to engineer their demise. Not sure if I am the first to make this statement, do not know -- just wanted it to be on the record.

""Food" for Thought"

cowboss

Saturday July 4, 2009, 5:32 pm
Cowboss, thank you so much! This is really quite frightening. We have gone way past genetical engineering and entered the twilight zone of food!

Saturday July 4, 2009, 5:57 pm
I would not touch it,but if it ends factory farming I am all for it!!
Thanks Cowboss

Saturday July 4, 2009, 7:20 pm
PeTA is for it, thy have offered a 1 million dollar prize to anyone who can bring cloned meat to market at a competative price in at least 10 states, ao since PeTA has had this award for over a year its not GMO or big pharm...its little old PeTA

I can't make this stuff up

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/04/lab_meat_tastes.php

Saturday July 4, 2009, 7:38 pm
Bill

Thanx

I hear you,I just did not want to go there today!

cowboss

Saturday July 4, 2009, 8:32 pm
I don't know about this. Thanks Cowboss.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 1:34 am
For Karen: "beam up, Mr. Scott, it's lunchtime." LOL Ok, enough laughing now. We already have soybean steaks on the market (which are kinda wierd to eat but palatable enough) what next? I Why not peanut buter tacos since peanut butter is full of good proteins (sorry cowboss, can't help myself this morning.) My next question is a little more serious: how will they call this "meat?" And my next question is :just how far are we exactly from Solent Green? Thanks Cowboss.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 1:56 am
i'm flabbergasted cowboss i don't know what to say

Sunday July 5, 2009, 4:17 am
Stop eat other beings!
I would preffer to eat any artificial s$%% than kill somebody for food!
and proposed clonned meat still need animals as cells donnors - it's not solution for me however some people see the end of factory farming in it
anyway if people will still want to eat meat the clonned meat will be their future

Sunday July 5, 2009, 5:33 am
Well cowboss - looks like I'm in the minority, but I for one don't think this is a terrible idea - in fact I reckon it's the way to go for the many who detest the cruelty involved in the whole horrible process of "farm" to table, but can't see themselves giving up eating meat - that includes most members of my family, and many people I've discussed this with. I'm veg.myself - but only because I can't stand the cruelty - I'd definitely give it a try!
I'm glad to see New Harvest receiving more notice - there has been considerable discussion on this , if you would care2 take a look -

http://www.care2.com/news/member/713340025/941624

http://www.care2.com/news/member/733080588/985694

http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/would-you-eat-lab-grown-meat/

Sunday July 5, 2009, 5:52 am
Who needs meat of any kind whatsoever?

Sunday July 5, 2009, 6:02 am
Pam

I am not sure if you are in the minority or not, and if you are I am sure you will not be for very much longer.

Would like to do a story, if I was a decent writer called the "Obituary of the "farmer"". Seems to me that what is happening, and has happened could be more accurately called "Suicide" than "Death". Farmers through their greed and with the encouragement of Government and Big Pharma embarked on horrific farming practises (factory farming) which naturally brought outrage in the general consuming public which has begot open arms to this new "Frankenfood". Yes I am sure that Government and the Big Corps will find new cleaver ways to market this stuff, the may even find a "plague" to wipe out the remaining farm animals, or a farm animal disease for which their is "No Treatment", or maybe something else -- no matter they will find a way.

And yes, they have built themselves a huge marketing agency for their "Frankenfood", it's name you may recognise, Peta

cowboss

Sunday July 5, 2009, 6:04 am
Well...no-one NEEDS it - although many meat-eaters disagree.
But it is a way to perhaps get them to give up at least SOME of their meat meals - and I don't see this as being something terrible.
I discussed this with my family (all meat-eaters, alas!) after the news articles that I posted - and they mostly agreed that they would give it a try.
To my mind - anything that stops animals from being cruelly raised ,transported ,and slaughtered, is to be commended.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 6:19 am
Whoops CB- we posted simultaneously!

I think you need have no fear that "farm" animals will be wiped out - this stuff will never be cheaper than the meat obtained by the despicable use and abuse of animals by so-called "farmers" - they'll always be the cheap and easy option for those producers with no scruples or basic human decency.

"Frankenfood",to me, is the hideous spectre of GM seeds - don't know if I missed something, but I don't see that as being an issue in this particular situation.....

Sunday July 5, 2009, 6:56 am
Anything that can give sad 'meat eaters' their daily fix without having to cruelly factory farm and then horrifically slaughter the defenceless and innocent animals I am all for. Don't tell me meat eaters only enjoy their meat because of the torture and murder or because they think they are superior. If there was a better way - why not? My husband (also sadly still a meat eater) loves my vegetarian food made with soy meat substitutes. He would certainly want to try this cruelty free meat. I am surprised there aren't more vegans/vegetarians on here leaping for joy. Isn't this what we always wanted?

Sunday July 5, 2009, 7:07 am
Have these people finall succumbed to mad cow disease hee hee.... well there could be some advantages,no culling of animals, no hormones, but then what would it take to make the this work... They are not like plants you talk to them and they grow?????

Sunday July 5, 2009, 7:23 am
Pam

Just so you know, cowboss does not not "fear that "farm" animals will be wiped out" you and many others have Stereotyped cowboss. cowboss is too old to fear anything other than "fear" itself. cowboss will adapt. I Just cannot get over the picture of the "farmers" so willingly drinking the "Kool Aid" That Big Pharma and Big Corp America has been serving them. When Jim Jones did this to his followers there was human outrage, This time it is distressing to see the "Human Cheering".

And by the way, this stuff is "Frankenfood" is as much as it is "Lab Produced" by people with long, wild, unkempt gray hair in a lab with "green sparks and ominous looking machines".

And, yes it will be cheaper.

cowboss

Sunday July 5, 2009, 8:30 am
i am almost a vegetarian -- I still love milk chocolate and I recognize it has milk in it, so that is the only way a break my vegetarianism. Otherwise, I grow my own fruits and vegetables from heirloom seeds. So meats, meat products and genetically modified fruits and vegetables do no apply to me personally. If this procedure can produce meat with an acceptable flavor and texture to those who want to eat meat, it is a good thing lessens green house gasses and makes meat consumption sustainable.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 8:53 am
he he "frankenfood"
there are already worse thing people eat like hamburgers from MD or chickens from kfc
plus all the chemical drinks - it really make people survive everything

Sunday July 5, 2009, 10:09 am
What is so sad about meat without killing ? I think this is great news for the animals...

Sunday July 5, 2009, 12:19 pm
The problem would be, that unlike vegetables which we can grow with our own seeds, people could not make this meat themselves and so would be at the mercy of the Big Companies. In that case I'd certainly stick to peanut butter and pecan nuts myself which I love anyway.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 12:50 pm
pirjo

It is "sad" that the "farmers" have allowed themselves to be manipulated by the "profit motivations" of the "few" to the point of their own apparent extinction.

Not so different from the soon to be plight of the whole of "society".

cowboss

Sunday July 5, 2009, 1:33 pm
I'm all for it. Once the first batch is grown, the rest is cloned - and no animal will ever need to be slaughtered for the sake of someone's taste buds. There is so much poison in the meat from animal factory farms. The constant diet of antibiotics given to them - the unnatural fertilizers used to produce their feed. The internet is a fountain of information on this, and the resultant 'super bugs' that it has now spawned. I wrote a very detailed article on this a while back for a medical website.

I am a vegan, because of several reasons, but the first reason is I will not be a part to the horrific animal factory farms, nor to the slaughter of sentient beings. My taste buds can do without 'meat' very nicely, thank you. I back PETA 100% in this research. Just because one damns all meat eating and the slaughters of animals, does not mean one must euphemistically turn a blind eye to the current horror. It will take a long time before people are evolved sufficiently to give up the 'taste' for blood. Until such time, roll on alternatives, roll on....

Sunday July 5, 2009, 1:34 pm
It all sound 's gross, but hey it may save our cattle, and such.. i'd be willing to try it .. but only after its been on the market a while. Remember our stance on downer cows, sheep, lambs, chickens, eggs, mutton, etc.... I found out a few days ago that Talapia that is farm raised has quite a bit more omega 6, thats what causes inflamation(its their diets) as a Rhuematoid arthitis sufferer.. its time to start working harde...

Sunday July 5, 2009, 2:48 pm
??????????????????

Sunday July 5, 2009, 2:53 pm
I agree that it does sound repulsive, but so is confining, slaughtering, and butchering wonderful live animals.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 3:57 pm
NIMS. Not in my stomach. I've lived 62 years w/o this stuff and won't eat anything cloned or GM knowingly. Aw crap, here we go again with the secrecy and lies.
Tks. cowboss, great article.
Tierney G., there is already a trend toward au naturele. I saw on discovery or APL, where a pig farmer in the Smokies in Tenn. or KY. allows his pigs to be well, pigs. He may be among the first, but he won't be the last.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 6:26 pm
Karen and Michelle: I thought about the food replicators before I read your comment and the soylent green thought also came to mind.

Okay, this new meatless meat that is cloned, just what kind of a nutrient or food source is used to encourage the growth of this cloned meat. Does it grow like plants, put in vat and just add water? Or are they going to grow it in proteins from real meat sources(soylent green factor) as it seems it must have some source of nutrition to create this. More chemicals????? I just would not trust it as being safe. Look at all the new drugs the last several years that were put on the market only to be taken off as causing death and/or catastrophic medical problems for life. I was on a pain med, which was taken off the market and my doctor never informed me, nor did the pharmacy and I later found out when a letter was sent to me from the drug manufacturer. Seems that people were not to take it more than 10 days for your whole life as it was killing people, I was on it continuous for several months and my doctor who should have been informed of this, never said a word to me. BTW the drug did help the severe pain. Now if this product turns out to be deadly to humans, will we the people be informed of this fact in a timely manner?

Never trust big pharma, corps, or big factory farming. What if a batch of this was infected with mad cow disease from a contaminated original donor caw, it would go through all the cultures that were made from the first cloned batch. I feel nothing good will come out of this and as for being cheaper that "real meat", how many times have the public been told that the "new thing" will be cheaper and it turns out to be much more costly that the real thing?

Maybe it is time to look for a small farm to live on and raise a few chickens and fish, I would just need a larger pond than I have now and we use about a pound of meat per week now, so it shouldn't be to hard.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 7:31 pm
I am very apprehensive about anything called food that my grandmother wouldn't recognize. The first question to ask about new food products is who stands to profit from it's roll out onto the market. It isn't the first time we have heard that these new technologies were going to feed the world's hungry. The gross (and I do mean gross) profits that Monsanto and other Frenkenfood makers, earn are paid out in bonuses and the bonuses are SIZABLE. If there was truly an iota of altruism there they would contribute to feeding the hungry in a way that would not increase market share or profits.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 8:57 pm
I am all for it. There are people who can not think of NOT eating meat. This will be the protein and taste that MOST people desire. No more FACTORY FARMS...YEY!!!! No more killing animals.
The meat will be clean and inexpensive, which is why we have factory farms in the 1st place, but at what price to the animal lives?? So bring it on.
Why carry on, don't we have IVF babies? a boon to people who can't have children. There are even test tube babies.
If they can make the meat protein without a brain that feels pain, then it is a win situation.
I do not eat meat, but this meat I would eat.

Monday July 6, 2009, 5:41 am
Noted . Thankyou

Monday July 6, 2009, 9:41 am
This disgusts me completely!! They need to learn that just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should! In this case we most certainly should NOT!

Monday July 6, 2009, 1:22 pm
This is disgusting, but there's that other side of the coin, (Maybe)

Monday July 6, 2009, 4:17 pm
I'll just stick to eating real cows. And spare me the abuse for saying this.

However, I do find it interesting that a lot of care2 people are opposed to cloning and GM in general, but would happily eat cloned meat..?

Monday July 6, 2009, 6:20 pm
Thanks for the news cowboss, good debate, i wouldnt eat it but i'm vegan and wouldnt eat anything like that, but i can only see it as a positive advancement.
Surely its much more repulsive to breed farmed animals and deprive them of their natural life spans and artifically take their young away, kill them horribly in their thousands etc. ALL animal farming methods are un-natural, people have such double standards! Plus your car, tv, microwave, vaccines, personal computers, the internet...etc are all atrificial are they not? Yet most people like the benefits of these things.
If meat eating were purely about taste then peole who ate it would happily eat this cruelty free version, so i'm guessing that there are other issues involved with the reasons why people want to eat meat? Why cause suffering, violence, death etc when you dont have to? Its a choice; pity that the animals have no say though.

Monday July 6, 2009, 6:49 pm
We have been eating meat for a very long time. Depending on your religious beleifs since the arc landed and the bible says we could..Hmmmm. sounds , not right. but either way. I wish I was raised vegan. I wish I never tasted meat. But I have and My conconcious says test tube meat yes. live animals no. Ive gota small pound but I keep my rescue turtles in it and guppies for them, plus I give them shrimp, fish etc... We were given the right thru the mosaic rules to eat animal flesh. That does not mean we have too.. I am a vegetable fiend. love them all and garden, fish yes, not talapia, though as my RA says its got so much omega 6 in it from being FARM RAISED, that causes inflammation.. As I said I wish I never had one bite of meat.. I am slowly getting "off" of it..

Monday July 6, 2009, 11:32 pm
OMG,BORG FOOD!!! We will be culinary assimilated!!!