Will Lab-Grown Meat Overtake the Animal Agriculture Industry?

[MoonRiver]

We’re rocketing toward a future where we can have meat without slaughtering millions of animals. It’s a dream that threatens the animal agriculture industry and provides hope for farm animals around the world. And this dream is coming to life inside a laboratory.

Paul Cuatrecasas, CEO of Aquaa Partners, a London-based investment banking firm, says that meat producers better start paying attention to laboratory-grown — also known as “cultured” or “clean” — meat. He views it as a real threat to animal agriculture –- most immediately to those who grow animal feed.

“Faced with the choice between two types of meats: one that is cheaper, cleaner, and more environmentally friendly, and the other — which is not — I cannot see traditional meat winning out long term,” writes Cuatrecasas for Feed Navigator.

More here:

http://www.care2.com/causes/will-lab-grown-meat-overtake-the-animal-agriculture-industry.html

[Phoenix61]

1. Wow!!!

Wonder how long before they start making lobster and shrimp and crab? How cool would that be!

[MoonRiver]

6. Well, alternative crab is already produced, just not from crabs lol.

[MineralMan]

2. So, is Chicken Little going to become a reality?

Just slice off what you need, eh?

https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/chicken-little-cometh/

[hlthe2b]

3. Happy at the thought of not slaughtering animals... but would really miss seeing them...

A favorite part of my day is a 4 mile walk along a trail that takes me alongside properties with cows (especially my favorite Jersey ), horses, and the occasional goat.

If there was no longer a commercial use for livestock, would they disappear from the landscape?

[MoonRiver]

7. Probably, but that would be much better for them.

I contribute to several farm sanctuaries, and I bet a lot of them would end up in those places. We animal lovers can go visit the sweet babies!

[surrealAmerican]

4. What do you feed to the cell cultures?

If they use some sort of sugar solution, the sugar still needs to come from somewhere - like maybe corn syrup. That would still require farms to grow the corn.

[MoonRiver]

8. Don't know anything other than what was posted. Interesting question though!

[jmowreader]

9. Something with nitrogen in it

All amino acids contain at least one atom of nitrogen. You gotta get it from somewhere and you can't get it from atmospheric nitrogen because atmospheric nitrogen is bonded so strongly.

The easiest place to get it would be ammonia...but then you're dealing with the CO2 production that comes with the Haber process. Now we have to find out whether the CO2 from the ammonia production we'd need to replace one cow's meat production is more or less than the CO2 from the same cow's farts.

[Cicada]

5. Exotic meats too: tigers, penguins, Donald Trump Jr, armadillos etc

[JDC]

10. This thread screams for a Soylent Green reference