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Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

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161–170 of 205 posts

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does a food need to contain 90% or 100% protein? I think many people vastly overestimate how much protein they need.

It's not true that by weight chicken breast has higher concentration of protein than beans. 100g of raw beans, or 100g of raw lentils, has more grams of protein than a chicken breast. 100g of raw soybeans has more grams of protein than same amount of beef. Of course, "raw" is the catch word, because when cooked, beans/lentils fill with water and then you might claim that concentration has been lowered but the amount…

Protein:Fat+Carb ratio is what matters when talking about protein concentration.

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s even simpler than that. There are some people who simply don’t function as well when they don’t eat meat. “But I’m vegan and I do just fine, in fact it I feel better then when I was eating meat”. I don’t doubt you, but I also don’t doubt the ex-vegans who tried and tried, but just felt awful and tired until they reintroduced meat. Different people have different metabolisms, and some people just can’t properly d…

Why does a food need to contain 90% or 100% protein? I think many people vastly overestimate how much protein they need.

Define "need." Sure, I could live off bread and water, but if I want optimal function, I have found that a high protein diet is the silver bullet.

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#163

As I understand it your technology is in part about providing a scaffolding that enables normal animal cells to grow. But there's a question that I genuinely think is important, but risk sounding like a troll. The qualities of a successful cancerous cell, to grow without restraint, unimpeded by the density of other cells or whether the cell is attached to a surface, will probably be even more successful in a bio-reac…

a tumor burger? doesnt sound very appetizing.

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#164
I'm currently on sabbatical, and I'm thinking about changing careers away from cybersecurity sales engineering and towards a career with cultivated meat. I have no biology background. Vincent, how did you prepare for this endeavor? Did you go back to school? If so, at what level and for how long?

I would relish the chance to dive into a new technical field using my existing sales skills with tons of new on-the-job training, but it feels like too much hubris on my side to go without any schooling background. Help me connect the dots, please?

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) We have already created our first piece of edible pork using our method! 2) ATKearney in their article "How will cultured meat and meat alternatives disrupt the agricultural and food industry?" estimates that about 10% of global meat consumption could be switched over to cultivated meat around 2030. While 10% is low, I think you'll start seeing restaurant experiences start cropping up more and more over the next 3…

> 5) We have not tasted it yet, but we will very soon! You need double blind taste tests. It doesn't matter if cultured meat is good for the planet, if Joe Sixpack won't eat cultured meat because it tastes bad or has weird non-meat properties and textures, then your product will get no traction

Impossible is already pretty good on “ground beef as an ingredient in something”. It’s comically out of the range where it will succeed economically, but it’s also early; if they can get the price down to compete with utility ground beef, I think it would already do phenomenally well in the market on a taste and feel dimension.

It’s not going to knock off any boutique burger and obviously not even a round steak, but I think that cultured meat is at least even-money to take a 30% market share of “beef” in the next 30 years.

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#167
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't say it wasn't a behaviour change. This was a response to your statement that your solutions didn't demand behaviour changes, when they both demand significant behaviour changes. My argument, which I have yet to state in this dialogue, is that lab grown meat offers the opportunity to provide an experience very similar to eating "real" meat at a lower cost to the consumer, thus making it a viable alternative i…

Fair enough. But the reality is that lab grown meat doesn't exist, so we are not certain how it will taste. Plant-based meats have come a long way in the past 5 years. Let's see where they are in another 5 years, at which point lab grown meat still won't exist at a scale and price point that's available to the mainstream consumer. I don't have anything against people pursuing lab grown meat research. I'm just a bit p…

Fair points. I like that we have lots of different smart people tackling the problem from different angles, though. I’m optimistic about technology here because I don’t think people will trade concrete quality of life now for abstract quality of life in the future.

What’s your favourite plant based meat? I’ll try it next time I go get groceries.

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems wildly alarmist. I'm not sure anyone's arguing for the complete removal of cows from the ecosystem. I'm also confident people won't stop eating real beef, even if factory farming is reduced and real beef becomes slightly more novel.

Yes it is alarmist for a reason. We have about 60 to 100 years of topsoil left unless we get cows and ruminant animals to help rebuild it.

It’s a shame cows will be extinct in 100 years. After the lab-meat craze of 2042, the military will use their vast domestic drone fleets to exterminate all remaining cattle from the surface of the earth to appease progressive anti-methane voters.

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#169

Interesting stuff! I've read that contamination is a huge issue, essentially, bacteria grows much better and faster at the substrate than mammalian cells. So, how do you avoid inadvertently cultivating smelly plaques instead of delicious meat? Or is that not really an issue and I'm misinformed? Best of luck. We really need it.

One of the most popular articles on HN with a whopping 900+ comments was about exactly this issue.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28621288

According to Paul Wood, the threat of bacterial contamination makes cultivated meat extremely expensive and un-cost-competitive.

Re: Launch HN: Micro Meat (YC S21) – Technology for scaling cultivated meat

#170

As I understand it your technology is in part about providing a scaffolding that enables normal animal cells to grow. But there's a question that I genuinely think is important, but risk sounding like a troll. The qualities of a successful cancerous cell, to grow without restraint, unimpeded by the density of other cells or whether the cell is attached to a surface, will probably be even more successful in a bio-reac…

Some thoughts. Tumors in muscular tissue are relatively rare. The growth cycle in these bioreactors should be short, giving less probability of runaway mutations. It’s a hyper growth medium with supernatural levels of growth hormones, so tumors may actually be favored. Are tumoral mammal cells integrated by humans when infested raw?
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