121–130 of 205 posts
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And then 50 to 100 years after that people will look back on with bewilderment. "You mean you planted whole seeds, let them grow for months, watered them all the while, just to kill them, chop up their leaf, and ship that to people?" Plants are alive too.
Are they as sentient? Do they suffer as much? I don't think there is reason to believe these things.
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Are they as sentient? Do they suffer as much? I don't think there is reason to believe these things.
Animals shouldn't suffer either if they're raised right. I also don't see how putting a bullet through a cow's head somehow causes any suffering.
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How are you going to do aseptic technique and metabolic regulation rate for less energy than skin+immune system and a liver? Anyone who's ever cultured mammalian cells knows that you toss the medium with most of the carbon source remaining because it's gotten too acidic with lactate. Turns out that livers are a really energy-efficient way of keeping cells alive.
Why not grow pseudo-animals that consist of tiled blocks of muscle + liver + dermis?
It's an abomination against nature, in the public eye.
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I'd worry about phytoestrogens as well. There are compounds in plant based foods that must be consumed in moderation (as all things). A vegetarian diet is superior in many ways to the modern western diet, but not without its own risks/disadvantages.
The evidence for soy phytoestrogens affecting us is weak. Dairy has a substantial amount of estrogen as well: http://www.livestrong.com/article/554285-does-milk-raise-est... Although, the evidence that it affects men is also weak.
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Are they as sentient? Do they suffer as much? I don't think there is reason to believe these things.
Animals shouldn't suffer either if they're raised right. I also don't see how putting a bullet through a cow's head somehow causes any suffering.
This is not possible at-scale.
Also, do you really think that giant corporations, that would willingly throw humans under the bus by the truckload to save a few dollars, give a crap about the suffering of an animal? Especially an animal that is slated for the slaughterhouse anyways?
Just look at how they react to undercover videos that expose illegal practices behind their closed doors. They immediately start lobbying for industry-specific laws that make it illegal to do undercover investigative journalism of their industry (the so-called AgGag bills).
They can't even stay within the letter of the current (and fairly lax) laws on how they are supposed to operate, and when exposed find it more logical to (attempt to) make it illegal to expose their crimes rather than to just stop committing said crimes.
This is just shareholder value. Scaling meat has so many problems, but if you can sell fake meat at meat prices suddenly there is so much more profit margin to be returned to shareholders. I do not believe for 1 second that Tyson cares about health, environments, farmers or the well being of animals. > "We just got to the point last year where the consumer is demanding [the elimination of antibiotics in the food chai…
In which case we should all marvel at the virtues of capitalism and the free market, which take our selfish desires, and convert them into environmentally and communally beneficial actions.
"Because they are cold-blooded, insects are very efficient at converting feed into protein (crickets, for example, need 12 times less feed than cattle, four times less feed than sheep, and half as much feed as pigs and broiler chickens to produce the same amount of protein)."[0]
I'm plenty squeamish but might just be willing to try mealworm flour. Other ideas: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130514-edibl...
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There's already a more efficient way to turn energy and matter into food - plants. Running it through animals before we eat it is the inefficiency.
Problem is getting plants to taste as good as meat.
Solve the epidemic corruption of public elected officials and a lot of other problems would be resolved.
Animal agriculture seems to me like one of those things that in 50 to 100 years people will look back on with bewilderment. "You mean you birthed whole animals, let them grow for two years, fed them all the while, just to kill them, chop up their remains, and ship that to people?" Plant based protein and maybe even more so cultured/clean meat (e.g. http://www.memphismeats.com/ ) seem likely to totally replace how we…
How long something has been around is often a good way to determine how much longer it will be around in the future. I'd be willing to bet that humans will stop driving cars much sooner than they stop farming. Humans have been practicing animal agriculture for a long time...