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Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

smithsonianmag.com

51–60 of 493 posts

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#52

It will be animal cells differentiated into muscle tissues on collagen scaffolds initially. The technology comes from attempts to grow functional organs (ie, liver) that are biocompatible in the body serum proper. If there aren't health effects from transplantation within the animal type you can probably eat the animal tissues just fine. It's the same thing. It's meat. It's just without the animal suffering. And hope…

It's meat, but also without the immune system so...good luck.

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#53

> ...the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will need to inspect the company’s production facilities and product While I'm not undercutting the work that the USDA places into regulating consumer safety in the food supply chain, isn't it crazy to think that lab-grown meats are probably going to be under higher scrutiny from a food safety perspective than farm grown and butchered meats?

isn't it crazy to think that lab-grown meats are probably going to be under higher scrutiny from a food safety perspective than farm grown and butchered meats?

Will they be? There's quite a long list of information about slaughter inspection just meant for regular people to understand. I'm sure the technical documentation goes into quite a bit of scrutiny. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and...

Even if lab grown meats do end up being more highly scrutinized, it's not crazy to look more closely at a brand new process than one has been exercised for over a hundred years (the Federal Meat Inspection Act is from 1906).

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#54

You might argue that people will just eat whatever because they don't care what's in it, but there are definitely boundaries for that in some societies. Case in point, bugs are safe to eat, but people in some cultures just can't even imagine doing so because... bugs! McDonald's Chitin McBuggits will never be a thing.

Bugs carry parasites. Lots and lots of parasites. And parasite eggs. Cultures that eat insects also have high rates of parasitic infections.

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#55
At this point I can't say I trust a single thing the US government tells me.

Sorry, you lost me these last almost 3 years. Good luck getting me to buy back in. Maybe next lifetime. At least I won't do the suddenly dance, which is getting more and more common.

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#56

It will be animal cells differentiated into muscle tissues on collagen scaffolds initially. The technology comes from attempts to grow functional organs (ie, liver) that are biocompatible in the body serum proper. If there aren't health effects from transplantation within the animal type you can probably eat the animal tissues just fine. It's the same thing. It's meat. It's just without the animal suffering. And hope…

It's meat, but also without the immune system so...good luck.

(This isn’t a sarcastic or Socratic question, just genuine curiosity)

Is there some aspect of the immune system that remains active and providing protection to an animal, or parts of an animal after it’s slaughtered?

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or consuming terrifying amounts of energy and resources, when you can put a cow in a field until it's big enough to eat.

This is a nonsensical comment. Culturing meat is entirely about minimizing resource and land usage, and curbing the serious environmental impacts of the beef industry, which is of course truly infamous for methane emissions and deforestation.

Personally, I doubt that. I strongly suspect that lab-grown meat is mostly about making lots of money selling it for high margins to vegetarians who still want to eat "meat".

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#58

It will be animal cells differentiated into muscle tissues on collagen scaffolds initially. The technology comes from attempts to grow functional organs (ie, liver) that are biocompatible in the body serum proper. If there aren't health effects from transplantation within the animal type you can probably eat the animal tissues just fine. It's the same thing. It's meat. It's just without the animal suffering. And hope…

For context, the life of an average herbivore in the wild consists of living with no shelter in harsh weather while having to fear every sound. And it typically ends by being ripped to pieces by a predator and eaten alive while the brain still has some residual oxygen and awareness.

The typical farmed animal experience where you are sheltered, vaccinated against common illnesses, provided food and slaughtered after being knocked out with electricity is surely boring, but hardly encompasses more suffering.

Re: Lab-Grown Meat Is Safe to Eat, FDA Says

#60
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or consuming terrifying amounts of energy and resources, when you can put a cow in a field until it's big enough to eat.

97%[0] of cows are finished on feedlots, i.e. get a substantial amount of calories from corn and other feed. Other animals like pigs are exclusively fed feed. Animal factory farming already consumes a terrifying amount of resources, using up a lot of the plant agriculture that we do. [0] https://littlecreekmontana.shop/blogs/ranch-blog/food-for-th...

The finishing process changes the tase quite a bit. Some folks like the grain taste some like it grassy.
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