Being in the beef production business, the topics of lab- grown "meat", veggie-burgers and other fake meat is often discussed. Some cattle producers are really worried about it. Others feel it will never make up a major part of Americans' diets.
what do people here think of it? Has anyone tried it? Do you see it growing in popularity, or is it just a fad?
In an effort not to eat meat, the delusional are willing to stuff a bunch of chemicals down the their gullet. Seems like just one more symptom of a form of mental illness.
I'm not interested, but if enough folks are to sustain the product I don't think it will ever be a major issue. The veggie or other "fake" products tend to charge more than the typical organic labeled upcharge of other products so I don't see folks on the fence jumping to the fake side.
Obviously as a species we have to figure out how to sustain a population level with housing and food w/shrinking growing space, and these lab meats free SOME farmland up for housing... but more importantly these type of products greatly enhance our ability to expand across the universe as a species whenever that time comes
I don't understand people who bash meat eaters and processed foods then turn around and eat fake meat products because the products are healthier. How processed is fake meat?
There was a story on tv yesterday that said that lab grown chicken has been approved for sale in the US. It's grown from real chicken cells. 50,000 lbs were produced last year as opposed to billions of pounds of chicken. And the lab produced stuff is more expensive than the real deal.
Yeah, this is a fairly popular topic. Most here are not interested due to taste or cost, but are supportive of any environmental benefits.
What I think is important though is that the flavor and costs are improving rapidly as the firms release new versions of the meat like software. So, what is too expensive and bad tasting today might not be the case in a few years.
What is the takeaway for beef sellers? Probably try to improve their environmental footprint as much as possible to offset the advantages of the new plant or cell based meat.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
I've tried one of the plant based burgers and it wasn't, by any measure, the best "burger" I have ever had. However, it also wasn't even close to the worst. I am sure a certain segment will, but a certain segment also regularly eats tofu. I don't think the meat industry has anything to be worried about.
If people want it, have at it. Only thing I care about is that it’s obviously labeled on the consumer products. I don’t want it to end up in a bunch of different products with some enigmatic name on the ingredient list. Same with “ze bugs”
I am against. There are no benefits in trying to duplicate an already Perfect design.
The FDA said ‘it’s safe to eat’… we’ll, so was the paste that I ate as a kid.
That does not mean it will stay safe, or sustain us long term.
What new types of problems will it cause? Only time will tell.
Jim, our neighbor up the road isn’t losing any any sleep over it, and he is chairman of one of the top three poultry producers in the country. I agree.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks Square DOT
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Joule Turbo Sous Vide Circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
Personally, I just can't get too worked up about it.
I figure that there's "natural" meat (from critters) and "synthetic" meat (genetically the same as natural meat but grown in "vats", assisted by humans).
Then there are vegetable products, including much-maligned "veggie burgers" that do not pretend to be meat of any kind. I have no issue at all with those. In fact, there are a few that I like a lot.
Finally, although I find the term "Fake Meat" to be a bit too inflammatory these days, I'll personally look the other way when it's applied to any product pretending to be a miraculous replacement/substitute for genuine meat (natural or synthetic).
Bottom line I guess, is that in a free market economy like ours, consumers will be casting their "votes" with their wallets. In my case, I'll happily continue to cast my "vote" for the meat industry (with a strong personal preference for the natural stuff) and for the veggie industry.
I will not now, nor will I ever cast my cash "vote" for anything that falls into the "Fake" category ... although I'll keep hoping, at least slightly, for a bit of a name change. My guess is that this unfortunate category will eventually wither and die due to insufficient long-term interest/satisfaction (and therefore consumer cash support) ... although I'm confident that another equally stupid idea will come along shortly thereafter to replace it.
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