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Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

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Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#11

Post by gwern »

Danihan wrote: post #4
jseliger wrote: post #3

Beyond Meat gets name-checked in the article, but I want to emphasize that their burgers are pretty good: https://jakeseliger.com/2017/08/23/beyond-meat-burgers-are-p... and in my view underappreciated right now. If you've not tried them yet, you ought to.

I love how highly, highly processed foods are suddenly A-OK to many people here once it's a fake meat product. Whatever happened to the concept of, "Eat real food?" Full Ingredient List: >Water, Textured Wheat Protein, Coconut Oil, Potato Protein, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Leghemoglobin (soy), Yeast Extract, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Konjac Gum, Xanthan Gum, Thiamin (Vitamin B1), Zinc, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Ribo…

> I love how highly, highly processed foods are suddenly A-OK to many people here once it's a fake meat product. Whatever happened to the concept of, "Eat real food?"

People do usually eat 'real food' when they eat meat products. That's the problem.

Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#12

Post by ethnic_throw »

Danihan wrote: post #4
jseliger wrote: post #3

Beyond Meat gets name-checked in the article, but I want to emphasize that their burgers are pretty good: https://jakeseliger.com/2017/08/23/beyond-meat-burgers-are-p... and in my view underappreciated right now. If you've not tried them yet, you ought to.

I love how highly, highly processed foods are suddenly A-OK to many people here once it's a fake meat product. Whatever happened to the concept of, "Eat real food?" Full Ingredient List: >Water, Textured Wheat Protein, Coconut Oil, Potato Protein, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Leghemoglobin (soy), Yeast Extract, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Konjac Gum, Xanthan Gum, Thiamin (Vitamin B1), Zinc, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Ribo…

Is MSG considered an artificial flavoring? I was under the impression that it is both naturally occurring in biology and that its health problems are greatly over-exaggerated.

Nonetheless, point taken.

Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#13

Post by ethnic_throw »

gwern wrote: post #11
Danihan wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love how highly, highly processed foods are suddenly A-OK to many people here once it's a fake meat product. Whatever happened to the concept of, "Eat real food?" Full Ingredient List: >Water, Textured Wheat Protein, Coconut Oil, Potato Protein, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Leghemoglobin (soy), Yeast Extract, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Konjac Gum, Xanthan Gum, Thiamin (Vitamin B1), Zinc, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Ribo…

> I love how highly, highly processed foods are suddenly A-OK to many people here once it's a fake meat product. Whatever happened to the concept of, "Eat real food?" People do usually eat 'real food' when they eat meat products. That's the problem.

That's an ethical problem, which is orthogonal to the fact that this fake meat is basically a soy hot dog in terms of nutrition.

Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#14

Post by adamnemecek »

grizzles wrote: post #10

Lab grown meat is the industry I'd pick if I had to pick where the next rags to world's richest person will come from. Can it be scaled & beat conventional slaughter economically? I'm betting that it can. And it will disrupt a 100B+ annual industry.

I agree to some extent but selling physical products, let alone perishable products is an insane endeavor.

Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#16

Post by kjksf »

As a counter point, the CEO of Impossible Burgers thinks that meat grown from cells is "stupidest idea ever" (http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/inventions/arti...).

And I kind of don't see how Memphis Meat can possibly compete with Impossible Burger (or other companies that can produce meat-like products from vegetables + industrial processing).

Today Memphis Meat costs "several thousand" per pound and generates literal pounds of meat. It's a pre-alpha prototype.

Impossible Burger's ground beef costs "comparable to organic beef" and are scaling production to a million pounds of meat per month. They've shipped and are increasing velocity.

Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#18

Post by pkaye »

sethbannon wrote: post #5

For those that are curious, as an early investor and advocate for clean meat, I wrote about my experience eating Memphis Meats' products and why their solution is so much better than convention meat production: https://medium.com/@sethbannon/i-just-ate-meat-for-the-first...

Since you seem to know people in this industry, can you encourage them to put phosphorus numbers on nutrition labels. Currently they are not required by law. People like I with a failing kidney need to watch our phosphorus levels but still consume high amounts of protein. Knowing this little bit of information would open up a new food options for us.

Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#19

Post by dsego »

mmisu wrote: post #8

Highly processed food made in a lab has a big chance to have hidden side effects. I would not eat this until it is tested in the wild for a few years.

I think it's safer, probably harder to get mad cow disease or salmonella, don't you think? Also, today we get it from animals pumped full of antibiotics, hormones living in their own excrement.

Re: Billionaires and big ag are joining venture investors to fund lab-grown meat

#20

Post by mmisu »

dsego wrote: post #19
mmisu wrote: post #8

Highly processed food made in a lab has a big chance to have hidden side effects. I would not eat this until it is tested in the wild for a few years.

I think it's safer, probably harder to get mad cow disease or salmonella, don't you think? Also, today we get it from animals pumped full of antibiotics, hormones living in their own excrement.

I guess it is a question of personal choice. I won't eat fake meat the same way as I don't eat highly processed food unless I'm forced to eat it.
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