[Art]

Remember the old movie, Soylent Green? Well our wonderfully creative scientists
are working on a similar scheme, although NOT with people.
Growing Meat!!!!!!!!? :zdg_flag_bsbs

Academic Paper Says Edible Meat Can be Grown in a Lab on Industrial Scale

August 16, 2005 Experiments for NASA space missions have shown that small amounts of edible meat can be created in a lab. But the technology that could grow chicken nuggets without the chicken, on a large scale, may not be just a science fiction fantasy. In a recent paper in the Tissue Engineering journal, a team of scientists has proposed two new techniques of tissue engineering that may one day lead to affordable production of in vitro - lab grown - meat for human consumption. It is the first peer-reviewed discussion of the prospects for industrial production of cultured meat. "There would be a lot of benefits from cultured meat," says University of Maryland doctoral student Jason Matheny, who studies agricultural economics and public health. "For one thing, you could control the nutrients. For example, most meats are high in the fatty acid Omega 6, which can cause high cholesterol and other health problems. With in vitro meat, you could replace that with Omega 3, which is a healthy fat.

"Cultured meat could also reduce the pollution that results from raising livestock, and you wouldn't need the drugs that are used on animals raised for meat."

Prime Without the Rib

The idea of culturing meat is to create an edible product that tastes like cuts of beef, poultry, pork, lamb or fish and has the nutrients and texture of meat.

Scientists know that a single muscle cell from a cow or chicken can be isolated and divided into thousands of new muscle cells. Experiments with fish tissue have created small amounts of in vitro meat in NASA experiments researching potential food products for long-term space travel, where storage is a problem.

"But that was a single experiment and was geared toward a special situation - space travel," says Matheny. "We need a different approach for large scale production."

[Freddy]

Wow, I wonder how animal rights activists feel about that and also vegetarians.? Also what about kosha food?? Are we going to have to decide wether these grown meats constitute living beings -? if it was never really alive then is it really an animal any more ?? That idea could be straight out of some horror film? :zdg_z_bat

It's kind of funny they chose chicken nuggets though.

[GamerThom]

I'm not surprised Art. They have been growing strips of Living human skin in medical labs for several years now for use
in treating burn victims who did not have enough usable tissue left for skin grafts, and last year i saw a report on how they
are growing Liver cells in culture over electrolytically aligned carbon skeletal structures to replace damaged portions of
the liver when donor organs are not available. So this idea of lab grown edible meat is just an expected off-shoot of that
research. I'm sure that the livestock on farms will welcome the news. :zdg_chicken

[FuzzieDice]

Being a vegan (one who doesn't eat ANYTHING from an animal whereas vegetarians eat eggs and dairy), I welcome the news.

As long as like they say that the meat is not treated with drugs or antibiotics.

The reason I am a vegan is due to health problems and concerns. My stomach doesn't do well with a lot of the antibiotics and drugs that filter into the meat. Plus, I don't dare get food poisoning. It nearly kills me. I've had it before and it's too much to deal with, with my stomach the way it is. Due to Fibromyalgia, my digestive system is extremely sensitive. I can't have some herbs and spices either.

Another concern of mine was not just the fat/cholesterol problem, but as mentioned the bacterial poisons and also the reports of meats coming off the market due to illnesses. Another concern was the outbreak of "Mad Cow Disease" and the hoopla over that. In short, I began to think meat is not very healthy at all, and in fact very risky. So I eliminated ALL animal products from my diet. That also includes Honey, geletin (made from animal fat and if it doesn't specifically say it's not, then it more than likely IS), lactic-anything, casein (from cheese, etc.)

If they can do this with meats, maybe they can make a safer and more nutritious meat. It's welcome news. Right now, I eat a lot of soy-based products. Boca Burgers taste nearly like hambergers. SmartDogs are like hotdogs, Tofutti (don't laugh ) makes vegan cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, and ice cream, among other things. There's a store near me that carries all this stuff in one area. I of course shop there often. Thing is, it's the ONLY store in my area that has that. So I have no choice in price, etc. Having this type of meat stuff may help. Hopefully it might spawn fish and dairy foods that are safer too. Esp. for people with lactose intollerances (like me).

As for growing "meat" in the labs, I also remember reading about a "brain in a dish" that could actually I think run a flight simulator! Not electronics, but a biological brain in a lab dish. Makes me wonder, if that brain can think, would it be considered alive? Would it be unethical or murder to throw it away in the garbage when you're done using it?

I'd be more concerned about that, then I would about simple lab-created muscle or meat.

[GamerThom]

The brain in a dish, controlling a bit of electronics is not a new concept guys. It's been an idea used over and over in sci-fi movies for decades. The robot in SATURN 5 that utilized an oversized lab grown human type brain programmed with an almost human intelligence, and then all the cyborg movies where a human brain was housed in a mechanical shell. Even as far back as the "Bride of Frankenstein", where instead of using the brain from a cadaver, Dr. Pretorius grew a new brain in a dish to use in their undead female creation.? There are off-shoots of the human brain/ electronic interface being worked on here at the Cleveland Clinic in the area of? spinal cord and other nerve damage, using a computer chip to interface with the brain and send electronic impulses via electrodes implanted in the muscles to bypass dead or damaged nerves. The early research shows some promise, the main disadvantage being the risk of infection at the sites of the implanted hardware.

Reminds me of a quote I heard a long time ago;    "I think, therefore I am".     If that axiom is valid then any mind which is capable of random, independent thought and generating a new idea from the correllation of gathered information, and is found to be self-aware, even if that mind is artificially created. Would then be a living intelligent entity and deserving of its right to exist. So in that context, under those standards and conditions it could and should be considered murder to deactivate, unplug or in any other way cause that being to cease functioning.    Really something to give thought to.

[Maviarab]

hmmm...define what meat is?

Could artificial meat really be called meat?

and who says they are "not making peoplllllleeeeeee" (in a long exasperated scream) lol, just cos they say they are not does mean that they are not  :huh

[silence]

Art, sounds the the final resting place of ones own green green grass of home, right Bill.



Lets ask Hal.

[Carl2]

   I remember watching the movie, enjoyed it.  I also remember farmers killing young cows because of the high cost of feeding them. 
  I'll follow the above advice given above and ask Hal about this.
Carl2

[Freddy]

Yes, in some ways the advance of technology is having negative effects in some places..