Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef • Hacker News Board

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#11

Post by scld » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:30 PM UTC

I think the synthetic food market is going to be the biggest emerging market by 2020, coming out of relatively nowhere.

I know that there is development around it but with all the talk about energy, privatized space, mobile computing, clean environment, etc., I think synthetic meat will be the dark horse for next big business.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#12

Post by theklub » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:33 PM UTC

Goronmon wrote: post #3

Does it taste like despair? Seriously though, that's always my first thought when I read a story about something like this. It's like my brain can't help but cringe of the thought of eating something made this way, even if it's irrational.

The prime rib potato chips are really bizarre to eat. Its scary.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#13

Post by ginko » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:36 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #8

We have a lot of entrepreneurs here. Why don't we start with an easier lab-grown animal product than something we ingest? How about lab-grown fur coats (EDIT from evilduck's comment: or lab-grown leather for clothing, furniture, shoes, etc)? Who wouldn't want to wear a "mink" coat created with no animal pain? Develop the technology on something we don't have to eat, along with the associated health risks and sensitiv…

Lab grown fur seems a lot harder to do than lab grown meat. Skin is an incredibly complex organ. Especially if you want to grow hair on it.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#14

Post by nsns » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:41 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #8

We have a lot of entrepreneurs here. Why don't we start with an easier lab-grown animal product than something we ingest? How about lab-grown fur coats (EDIT from evilduck's comment: or lab-grown leather for clothing, furniture, shoes, etc)? Who wouldn't want to wear a "mink" coat created with no animal pain? Develop the technology on something we don't have to eat, along with the associated health risks and sensitiv…

    Why don't we start with an easier lab-grown animal product than something we ingest?

Because it's a prestige product, Where "authenticity" counts? (e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_diamond) Or perhaps because millions of animals are slaughtered each day to be consumed as food?

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#15

Post by chris_wot » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:47 PM UTC

While it's more ethical for the animal, I must question the carbon footprint and efficient and effective use of resources to make synthetic beef.

Firstly, to make it scale you'll need a lot of machinery. Then you'll need the right nutrients. It will need a lot of technology, because to make beef grow it will need to have everything maintained and provided for it. In nature, beef cattle can be run on reasonably unproductive land (feed lots notwithstanding). Cattle, as it turns out, are very effective and efficient factories of meat production all by themselves.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#16

Post by lukashed » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:49 PM UTC

Next up: Google beef. If they know our ad/browsing preferences, they also know our food/taste preferences.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#17

Post by drakeandrews » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:49 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #8

We have a lot of entrepreneurs here. Why don't we start with an easier lab-grown animal product than something we ingest? How about lab-grown fur coats (EDIT from evilduck's comment: or lab-grown leather for clothing, furniture, shoes, etc)? Who wouldn't want to wear a "mink" coat created with no animal pain? Develop the technology on something we don't have to eat, along with the associated health risks and sensitiv…

Lab grown fur is an interesting prospect. We've got (almost) industrial scale lab-grown skin and a quick check with a friend who knows much more than I informs me that she can't think of any barriers to growing fur this way. You could even insert chemical/genetic markers such that one could guarantee that a given piece of clothing was made from lab grown and not "real" fur.

Also, not a huge fan of mink. Other furs, perhaps. But not mink.

As a second aside, if we could produce fur, what about human hair, for wigs? But you'd likely have more regulatory issues with human hair than otherwise.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#18

Post by keiferski » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:51 PM UTC

The biggest challenge for synthetic beef will not be technology. It will be marketing. I'm glad Brin is investing, but I'd really like to see a marketing master like Richard Branson take the field on.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#19

Post by mapleoin » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:53 PM UTC

jlebrech wrote: post #9

we could also use that muscle to create clean energy, we could make it pedal on bicycles.

that's a great idea, I bet we could feed it corn syrup; we certainly have a lot of corn fields!

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#20

Post by mapleoin » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 1:56 PM UTC

This is awesome, but I'd really hate to be a beta-customer for synthetic beef. It might cause a lot of really bad side-effects while the whole industry matures, figures out what standards it should set and implements them.