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View Poll Results: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?
Yes 159 58.24%
No 114 41.76%
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Old 7th December 2020, 18:56   #16
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

I have tried Beyond Meat and it tastes like meat. However it is very highly processed and there's no study showing any of the long term effects of this kind of lab grown meat.

Personally I would rather eat meat grown sustainably only a few times a month rather than consume a chemically grown product. Think about it- we say junk food is bad and that's just barely processed. Lab meat is grown in huge vats using solutions and processes not studied in depth yet.
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Old 7th December 2020, 19:35   #17
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

I've tried three plant based fake meats:
1. Impossible food burger
2. Beyond meat burger
3. Moving mountains burger
All three tasted like meat and I doubt if anyone could have discerned. So I'm open to lab grown meat as long as its safe and tastes just like the real thing.
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Old 7th December 2020, 19:38   #18
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

As much as we want to believe otherwise, we are already in the vicious cycle of eating products that have little or no nutritional value anyways. Farming methods have undergone massive amounts of change and nothing is sacrosanct these days and that includes rearing of animals and growing of vegetables.

I have no issues with eating lab grown meat as long as I get the similar taste. As it is, we are eating chickens which are reared by methods that are not conventional anymore. There was a time when we all ate all things organic but now organic is a separate segment all together

Every new invention which helps the planet is welcome and if there is not much deviation in taste, I don’t think lab grown meat to not work. And we will always have the choice of eating natural meat if the processed lab grown meat is not at par with our palates.

Last edited by ABHI_1512 : 7th December 2020 at 19:59.
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Old 7th December 2020, 20:29   #19
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

Synthetic foods haven't turned out well in the long term. Specifically for animal-based food replacements (vanaspati ghee, refined oil, margarine), we have gone back from so-called 'healthy' options to natural, animal-based options.

This may turn out to be entirely incorrect, but this lab-grown meat gives me a deja-vu in a similar way.

I would err on the conservative side and will wait until we understand the long term effects of it.

disclaimer: I am a social non-vegetarian (like social drinkers).
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Old 7th December 2020, 21:16   #20
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

I eat meat at least two (and sometimes three) meals a day, and I really hope that lab-grown meat lives up to its current hype. For me there are three criteria that need to be met for it to be a viable alternative (leaving taste and texture aside):

1. Eliminate the cruelty of factory farming - it obviously eliminates this completely.

2. The energy & water input, the greenhouse gas emissions and the land required to grow cultured meat vs. animal husbandry.

3. Any long term negative health effects (which should ideally be none or minimal, compared to eating 'natural' meat) - it will take a decade or two of mass consumption of the product for us to really know.
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Old 7th December 2020, 21:44   #21
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

I would give this a shot. But as for the environmental impact, it would be biggest in countries where cows are reared en masse for food. This could be game changing for India if we can find an alternative to milk.
Quote:
Each year, a single cow will belch about 220 pounds of methane, which is shorter lived than carbon dioxide but 28 times more potent in warming the atmosphere, said Mitloehner, a professor and air quality specialist in the Department of Animal Science
...
Quote:
The agriculture sector is one of the world’s biggest sources of climate-altering gases, the vast majority of which come from meat and dairy production. If cows were their own country, they would be the third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world.
https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/ma...e-sustainable/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/clima...urting-planet/
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Old 7th December 2020, 21:54   #22
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

Voted No.

I will wait for a few year (5-6) to see if there are any known issues with eating synthetically grown meat. As with other synthetic products tried earlier, there are some or the other health issue associated in the long run. Till then good old farm grown animal meat is fine.
I know the argument about sustainability is relevant, but personal sustainability takes priority here

However after a few years, if it turns out to be healthier/better for my body, then why not. Most car engines made the switch to a synthetic diet after a long time
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Old 7th December 2020, 22:02   #23
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

I would, definitely. I have no issues with GMO...I have no issues with lab meat! For staple and daily protein need, I am happy to adopt. For the gastronomic delights once a month, it's the real pound. I have doubts though, if the texture, the fibrous feel, the whiff of "rawness", the bone.... would be replaceable. My Rogan Josh or rezala, needs lot more than the meat, from the meat. But yeah... surely!
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Old 7th December 2020, 22:06   #24
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

As a vegetarian, I will not convert just because the meat is lab-grown. But, the number of vegetarians/vegans is very less, and attracting them is not the intention of the industry anyway. I am predicting this is how things will pan out in the long run though.

Phase 1 - Lab meat is super expensive and is a niche item. Probably the safest time for vegetarians to taste and be absolutely sure they are not eating real meat.
Phase 2 - It starts becoming more affordable but still expensive compared to the real thing. Expect a lot of fakes at this period with real meat being sold as the lab-grown.
Phase 3 - Prices fall and now real meat becomes more expensive. There will still be fakes but the other way round. People pay extra for "certified real" without actually knowing whether it is real or not, aka "certified organic".
Phase 4 - Lab meat becomes mainstream and very few care for the real stuff anymore.

The most crucial stage IMO is the period between phases 2 and 3. If that period is too long, companies will face challenges to sustain the interest for lab-grown meat as well as keeping at bay any negative impacts. However, given a chance, I will put my money on the companies pioneering the technology.

Last edited by Jaguar : 7th December 2020 at 22:07. Reason: Typo
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Old 7th December 2020, 22:19   #25
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

This post should have a third option as "I don't eat, I don't care either". Some of us (including me) here, don't eat meat, some might due to a spiritual or religious reason, but some just don't feel it right or worth eating. It's not like I hate or condemn non veg diet, I don't feel it's worth pointing it out.
Moderators kindly remove this reply if it's not contributing
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Old 8th December 2020, 00:02   #26
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

I love eating beef, but gave up eating meat all together because of the environmental impact, the food (& hormones too) animals are fed, and the processioning that goes into meat production. The meat which we eat today in India is not the same which our families ate 2 generations ago.

Once in a while, I do grab an impossible/beyond meat burger. If lab grown meat is successful & proven not to cause any side effects, I'll consider it a few years down the line. Even then, I'll probably eat it rarely.
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Old 8th December 2020, 00:17   #27
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

Don't see the need for it actually , perfectly fine with normal meat that was grown in a farm than a lab. It is perhaps an unnecessary yet perfectly acceptable form of food production.
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Old 8th December 2020, 00:26   #28
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

For me a meal without a dead animal is somehow a very incomplete meal.

I have zero qualms about killing an animal myself and dressing it up for consumption.

But I will try this thing when its available in India.

What I do next depends on how it tastes and works with my cooking style.
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Old 8th December 2020, 05:38   #29
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalnirvana View Post
I . News flash! We're irrevocably damaging the ecosystem as the apex species of our time

The planet will be fine. But most of the flora and fauna we know will be gone before we course correct.
As of now, our ability to function as an apex species has been irrevocably changed by a life-form that we cant even see with the naked eye.
Life will continue . Flora / fauna will reappear in some or other form. Our precious desire to control things is whats at stake.
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Old 8th December 2020, 08:53   #30
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Re: Will you eat lab grown meat vs the actual animal meat?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai View Post
We eat farm grown meat all the time, and that is not exactly very healthy.

If lab meat can avoid the mess with poultry/dairy farms, I would welcome it.

Traditional meat eaters who buy mutton from local mutton shops will know the difference in taste. Those who eat only at restaurants may get fooled.
The feed which is provided to broiler chicken is not healthy to say the least. Those who can, do not prefer to eat broiler and always prefer country chicken, for eggs too.

Taste is different and once you have country chicken, it is difficult to eat broiler, especially if it is your normal curry type dish.
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