PETA’s Latest Tactic: $1 Million for Fake Meat

[mike_c]

Source: NYT

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals....

--snip--

...said it would announce plans on Monday for a $1 million prize to the “first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012.”

The idea of getting the next Chicken McNugget out of a test tube is not new. For several years, scientists have worked to develop technologies to grow tissue cultures that could be consumed like meat without the expense of land or feed and the disease potential of real meat. An international symposium on the topic was held this month in Norway. The tissue, once grown, could be shaped and given texture with the kinds of additives and structural agents that are now used to give products like soy burgers a more meaty texture.

--snip--

But, Ms. Newkirk said, the decision to sponsor a prize caused “a near civil war in our office,” since so many PETA members are repulsed by the thought of eating animal tissue, even if no animals are killed.

Lisa Lange, a vice president of the organization, said she was part of the heated exchange. “My main concern is, as the largest animal rights organization in the world, it’s our job to introduce the philosophy and hammer it home that animals are not ours to eat.” Ms. Lange added, “I remember saying I would be much more comfortable promoting eating roadkill.”

more@link

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/us/21meat.html

---

An interesting story. I'm not much of a fan of PETA, but I think it's interesting that this decision so thoroughly challenges the morals of some of its membership. In vitro meat would go a LONG way toward eliminating factory farming if it was economically viable. It's GUARANTEED to be genetically modified, of course!

Remember the cow or whatever it was in the restaurant at the end of the universe?

[tridim]

1. Whatever happened to that tree grown meat-stuff that I read about in the past year?

I think I read it here.

[El Supremo]

2. Wher's my salad dressing? pic>>

F**king Nuts!

[Kolesar]

3. I thought the garbanzo beans I ate for dinner were pretty darn delcious

I put a lot of them on a salad, some salad dressing, then dusted them with chili powder. Yeah

[onehandle]

9. We had mock chicken salad from Whole Foods.

Expensive, but we were short on time. Very yummy.

[Duer 157099]

4. Soylent Green

Do I win?

[shanti]

22. you win!

:hi:

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. Well, there's always...Soylent Green

( in homage to Heston....snark)

[Javaman]

23. I don't know, after seeing that movie, if I was heston, I wouldn't be

all that thrilled with eatin Edward G. Robinson either...

LOL

[truthisfreedom]

6. This is necessary technology for the new century, considering what we're headed for.

Climate change ain't going away.

[mike_c]

7. I agree....

Of course if we can make cutlets in vitro, I presume we could grow other bits for, er, um, entertainment.

[LiberalFighter]

8. Will they demand that foxes not be allowed to eat rabbits, squirrels and mice?

Alligators prevented from eating small dogs, birds, children?

Bears prevented from taking elks, moose or other mammals?


And they don't raise their own food.

[yewberry]

28. No. That's silly.

And what do those misinterpretations have to with the story?

[LiberalFighter]

32. The point of PETA is the pain that animals suffer to become a meal

And the difference is that humans raise the food for their own consumption. In most cases. Exception would be seals, whales, game birds, big game animals.

[yewberry]

33. The point of PeTA is that animals aren't ours to exploit.

Animals suffering to become a meal or a handbag or a spectacle is just the result of our commodification of their lives.

I don't understand what you meant about 'demanding' that animals don't eat other animals. It doesn't apply to this discussion. Animals eat what they eat--it's a fact outside of our existence and not open to judgment or applications of morality.

Humans kill animals for their own consumption; as humans, it is within our purview as individuals to judge whether we think it is right or moral for us to raise or kill animals for our own reasons. Whether people think it's better somehow to eat engineered meat has no bearing on how animals eat.

[Juche]

10. I heard about this earlier

Except an extremely hot redhead was talking about it at PETA headquarters.

I don't get why people would be opposed to this idea. One of the causes of global starvation we are starting to face is the growing global demand for meat. Meat requires 7 calories of grain for every 1 calorie of meat produced. Factory meat will not require nearly as much energy input.

Agricultural waste in the form of methane also contributes to global warming, and it a major waste of water or land resources.

$1 million is too small a prize for this technology. Hell if we perfected large scale hydroponic farming and in vitro meat we would have cheap and abundant food for everyone with no animal cruelty.

[DBoon]

11. Does Taco Bell count?

I had a beef taco there the other night and I will swear that "meat" did not come from any cow

[Canuckistanian]

12. I can see potential dangers in this

Producing genetic copies of protein cells?

Is this to be considered life or just another "crop"?

Also, could this cause the next prion disaster that precipitates more "mad cow"-like effects??

I say let there be a clear dividing line between "meat" and "vegetable".

[Kali]

13. mmmm lab generated meatlike substance

sounds wholesome. wait! don't we already have....SPAM?

[mike_c]

14. LOL-- I've just discovered what simply reading the word "spam..."

...can do to my appetite when I'm eating dinner. I think I'm finished now, thank you. :rofl:

[RebelOne]

15. I hope someone is able to develop a fake meat.

I've been a vegetarian for 10 years, but I would love to have a filet mignon.

[flvegan]

16. By 2012?

Not possible. Once someone actually comes up with some sort of product with potential, Big Beef will be there to quash/buy out/lobby against it. All those govt subsidies for land?

I find it intriguing that with all we know about the production of meat, the health, environmental and animal welfare issues, as well as the current panic of food riots and our dwindling food resources, people actually still eat this shit. One of the easiest things a person can do to help the environment and their fellow man, but fuck all, it tastes good.

[Kali]

17. nevermind those subsidies for crops

like soy

and where is my check, anyway?

[BreweryYardRat]

29. "People actually still eat this shit. "

Some of us can't get too much protein from soy without unpleasant side effects. I can't go vegan -- I'd be spending three hours a day in the bathroom. And the fungal protein "Quorn" stuff isn't available here.

[flvegan]

30. There are other protein options.

I'm not suggesting going vegan. Regardless, meat is still shit.

And you, my friend, I could pick up and drive to 3 places to buy Quorn. Matter of fact, I volunteer to do so, and I'll buy you $10 worth.

[Juche]

31. there are vegetarian protein powders

You can buy rice or soy protein powder, or whey if you are into that.

[raebrek]

18. I am afraid that this would lead to loss of animals.

What would happen to the cows if we made meat in the lab? I don't think I would want one for a pet. I would assume that they would follow on with milk being made in the lab. I think fish would be okay if we made fish meat in the labs as their species survives in the wild even if the home grown fish farms were stopped. What about the cows and pigs and sheep?

Raebrek!!!

[Xithras]

21. It would lead to a reduction, but not their elimination.

First off, I really doubt that artificial meat could ever grab 100% of the market. It just isn't going to happen. Second, any reduction in population would take place through attrition...no farmer is going to execute his herd because fake meat is now on the market. He MAY reduce the breeding to naturally shrink the herd though.

Do keep in mind that even if they DID go extinct, there would be no real loss of animal genetic diversity. Cows are a human creation, derived from the European Aurochs (itself extinct, though scientists are trying to clone and restore it). Sheep are descended from Mouflon. Billy goats are descended from Wild Goats. Chickens are descended from the Junglefowl (did you know that chickens are actually a form of pheasant? They are!) With the exception of the aurochs, a total elimination of the domesticated farm breeds would simply equate to a restoration of the natural breeds dominance among their genetic stock.

It's a moot point since it's never going to happen anyway, but that's not exactly a horrible thing from an environmental standpoint.

Oh, and think about how all of that farmland and rangeland could be used if there weren't cattle devouring all of it.

[Codeine]

25. So?

They live under horrific conditions just long enough to brutally killed and hacked to bits so people can swallow gobbets of their flesh. I'm not seeing what exactly you are worried about here.

[hyphenate]

19. Cloning animal tissue to make

meat is actually a rather old idea, going back to some of the origins of cloning itself.

It's not cruel, since there is actually no animal involved, only specific tissue, whether it's from the liver of a cow, the breast meat from a chicken, or whatever.

The fact is, man is an omnivore. Some people can study the requirements of their bodies and live a vegan lifestyle, while others need a source of protein that is from an animal. I went veg for 14 years, but I developed diabetes, and couldn't sustain the protein required in the diet. I still eat mostly veg meals, but crave a hamburger about once a month, and have chicken or turkey about three times a week.

I do see a day in the future where cloning meat will be the norm, even to the point where you will be able to buy it looking exactly like, and tasting exactly like whatever meat it is based on.

I do agree to an extent about the population of animals declining because of less need for them, but that's actually a good thing. Less animals suffering, and being raised as pets for the most part, but there will always be a need to raise animals to make the cloned meats based on the best animal standards out there.

PETA always tries to push the edge of the envelope and can make people completely flabbergasted with them, but it often leads to innovative thinking.

[Xithras]

20. As a PETA hating burger lover, I welcome this.

I like meat, and I have no intention of giving up meat eating, but I have no desire to kill animals if it's not needed either. If PETA can figure out a way to get us SAFE and TASTY meat without killing an animal, I'll have no problem with it.

I'm a bit skeptical about whether they can pull it off though. Growing meat is one thing, but growing meat that tastes good will be another. The taste of meat is impacted by everything from the type of food the cattle eat to the amount of exercise they get. The simple fact that no food and no exercise is involved AT ALL will impact the taste and texture of the resulting food. Humane meat would be a good answer. Meat that tastes like soy-flavored cardboard isn't.

We'll have to see how it turns out, but I genuinely wish them the best of luck.

[Critters2]

26. Factory farm raised animals get no exercise now.

That's part of the plan. They fatten up to go to market sooner if they don't exercise. It makes them generally less healthy--just as it does for us. But it also makes 'em fat and cheap. And that's what you meat eaters want.

[Xithras]

27. Most beef is not factory farm raised in that sense.

Overall, straight drylot beef production is still a small part of the market...most beef are pasture-raised, and a significant portion are still range cattle. The statistics on drylot beef (aka, factory farm beef) nearly always include ranches that drylot their beef over the winter when the pastures are dormant or are under snow.

Pasture raised beef do get sufficient exercise to build muscle, which adds texture when they are butchered. It also keeps fat content from getting too high, which is important since fat content has to be kept below a certain amount (some fat is important for the cooking process, but excessive fat content is shunned by buyers because it causes massive shrinkage when cooking). Overall, beef cattle probably get more exercise than any other modern livestock animal. Achieving the perfect steak requires a balance between nutrition, fat content, and muscle tone. It's not simply "get the cow as fat as you can, as fast as you can". Fat doesn't sell, beef does...and beef is muscle.

And yes, that's what us unapologetic beef eaters want. My own comes from an organic ranch a few miles from me. Free range, grass fed, humanely butchered.

[Javaman]

24. Soylent Green is test tube cows!!!!

meh, tastes like chicken anyway.

[FVZA_Colonel]

34. Coming from PETA, this is... surprisingly constructive.

I doubt it can happen in the time frame they are proprosing, but I support the thought and their effort nonetheless.

[krispos42]

35. If we can ever trick our bodies into regrowing organs...

no reason that we couldn't trick a few cells from a prime, delicious steer to grow just the part of the cow (in some kind of nutrient vat or whatever) that makes a tasty T-bone or ribeye. Tone up the muscle tissue with electroshock, and *bam* cruelty-free 100% certified beef.

In fact, we might all one day be eating steak from the DNA of only a handful of different cows, endlessly duplicated for decades or centuries.

Same thing applies to chicken, pork, turkey, etc.

[western mass]

36. Where did Peta get $1 million????

!