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Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

theguardian.com

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Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#21

Post by pdelgallego »

chris_wot wrote: post #15

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 unprod…

According to another BBC article the environmental impact is significantly smaller.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23576143

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#23

Post by rorrr2 »

nsns wrote: post #14
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?

Synthetic diamonds are actually not cheap at all, maybe third of the price of the real ones. I expected them to be dirt cheap when shopping for the wedding ring.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#24

Post by TylerE »

chris_wot wrote: post #15

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 unprod…

Did you read the article? 55% energy usage, 4% greenhouse gas emissions, relative to the real thing.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#26

Post by LaGrange »

chris_wot wrote: post #15

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 unprod…

The thing is, having an actual cow means making a ton of methane. The unproductive land is actually questionable, also, we actually need that unproductive land to stay unproductive. And, finally, there's than small "sentient being" issue.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#27

Post by rorrr2 »

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.

I'm the opposite, I love meat, but hate the animal suffering. Even if it tastes half as good and costs around the same, I will switch.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#28

Post by rattray »

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…

Could fur possibly be easier to grow than meat? I think it's a fascinating idea, actually, but my impression is that in-vitro meat is currently mostly just muscle cells grown in culture, without any of the complications of mixing different cell types, giving them structure, etc. With fur, you'd have to create hair follicles, and induce the right oils to be excreted, etc... I'm not a biologist but it sounds much tougher.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#29

Post by bowlofpetunias »

keiferski wrote: post #18

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.

I don't think marketing will be a problem if you consider the industry has no problem selling crap that is made from far more distasteful things than synthetic meat.

It initially won't be sold as "synthetic meat". It will be sold as "sausage", "hamburger" and countless other products of which the labeling isn't protected and which are basically "mystery meat" anyway.

It has been done before, just look at the wide range of fake dairy products which we now consider perfectly normal.

Getting it through regulation will be the biggest challenge.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#30

Post by prawn »

scld wrote: post #11

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.

I've wondered about insects too. I'm aware of at least one contemporary restaurant in Australia serving crickets, mealworms, ants, etc. I suspect more will follow.

UN seems keen too. Apparently there are prototype factories growing insects to be crushed and used in a powdered form, and/or used as feed for livestock.

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