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Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

theguardian.com

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Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#181

Post by bluedino »

rsl7 wrote: post #66
rorrr2 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

As someone who eats an entirely plant-based diet, it sounds like a terrible idea. If it tastes half as good as actual meat, then it will be much worse than even the cheapest, overprocessed soy protein 'burgers' in the frozen food section of the grocery store. Seriously.

The only reason soy 'burgers' or 'dogs' exist is so that your vegetarian buddy doesn't have to feel left out at a cookout. They're full of sodium and preservatives and processed which is everything healthy people tell you to avoid. Not to mention if you put them in a bun with ketchup and mayo...

Besides, there are a hundred vegetarian dishes I'd be glad to eat before I'd want to eat a fake hotdog.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#182

Post by axblount »

api wrote: post #169
tdfx wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep a high level of protein my diet. I've tried veggie burgers and other substitutes and enjoyed them a lot, but I can't replace all my meals with them because they're just so damn high in sodium. Any suggestions?

If you don't want to go full-vegan, whey protein isn't bad. But you shouldn't rely on any one source exclusively. Full-vegan options include quinoa, beans, lentils, and nuts. But I agree it's hard. You have to eat a lot of these things.

I don't use any protein supplements but I've heard good things about Vega's products http://myvega.com/

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#183

Post by cgh »

axblount wrote: post #141
fatjokes wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the very least some animal product is necessary (e.g., dairy or eggs). See: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/21/opinion/21planck.html Vegetarians can go ahead and argue that vegans are too extreme while vegans fire back that vegetarians are just vegans who lack commitment.

I am vegan and have been for about a year and a half. Animal products are not necessary for a healthy diet. That goes for adults and infants. http://www.veganoutreach.org/enewsletter/20070523.html Crown Shakur did die because he parents didn't supply him with adequate nutrition, but there's no reason he couldn't have gotten what he needed on a vegan diet. Plenty of children are raised on a 100% vegan diet and thrive…

There's a reason why there are practically no vegan power athletes. I was vegan for nearly ten years and I regret it immensely as I now see how badly it set me back.

That said, you're right, with a properly-designed diet you can be healthy and happy. I don't believe you can ever be athletically optimal, however (aside from perhaps pure cardio sports).

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#184

Post by crpatino »

dreamdu5t wrote: post #149

Even with fully-developed technology, I have a hard time believing it will require less energy to manufacture a pound of synthetic beef than it will to simply grow it naturally. Am I wrong?

Beef is not very energy efficient anyways, around 10% conversion rate from pasture calories to animal tissue. Pork and chicken are much more efficient though.

From the very narrow perspective of energy efficient, the problem I see is that we are ditching a true and tested method of doing things with (up to a point) renewable resources and trying to create a substitute most likely based on petrochemicals, just at the same time as we're dragging our feet on finding and deploying a viable alternative to petrol based energy systems.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#185

Post by axblount »

wnevets wrote: post #179
axblount wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/2009_ADA_position_paper.pdf "It is the position of the American Di- etetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian di- ets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the lif…

that nytimes link showed that vegan breast milk isn't adequate

The second sentence of the article is "His vegan parents, who fed him mainly soy milk and apple juice, were convicted in Atlanta recently of murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty."

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#186

Post by chc »

ImprovedSilence wrote: post #147
wahsd wrote: post #107

Mostly carnivorous guy here; I have started playing around with the use of tofu and mushrooms in stead of meat and have come to the realization that it is actually a lot easier to substitute them for meat. Another, even bigger realization I have come to is that it seems that my addiction, yes, addiction, to meat and meat having to be a minimum requirement for having any interest in a dish, is that it is really a psyc…

>> Just think of how many meals have some form of meat in it. It's probably approaching 100% for most Americans that are not vegetarians. Really? Neither myself, nor 99% of the people I associate with are vegetarians, but I'd say I AT MOST 50% of my lunches and 25% of my dinners actually contain meat (and maybe 7% for breakfast). Granted, I do consider myself a heath conscious eater, and thus eat lots of veggies and…

Based on the stuff I've read, I'm pretty sure you are much further from the norm than he is. Only eating a meat-containing dish for dinner once or twice a week is pretty unusual.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#187

Post by penguindev »

wahsd wrote: post #107

Mostly carnivorous guy here; I have started playing around with the use of tofu and mushrooms in stead of meat and have come to the realization that it is actually a lot easier to substitute them for meat. Another, even bigger realization I have come to is that it seems that my addiction, yes, addiction, to meat and meat having to be a minimum requirement for having any interest in a dish, is that it is really a psyc…

You have heard of the Inuit right? Or the Massai people? How many vegetables do you think they ate?

Are you actually having health problems due to eating meat?

Edit: Another good thing to watch is the canadian documentary 'My Big Fat Diet' on youtube. Talks about the canadian indians (first nations) people having a ton of diabetes due to being on carbs and not their traditional fish based diet.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#188

Post by chc »

enraged_camel wrote: post #178
TeMPOraL wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A => B doesn't mean B => A. "If it's considered sci-fi, it's probably transformative enough" does not follow from his words.

I think in this case it does. Can you think of anything sci-fi that would NOT be transformative enough?

Three-dimensional chess. (Not really disagreeing. Just couldn't turn down the challenge.)

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#189

Post by purplelobster »

dreamdu5t wrote: post #149

Even with fully-developed technology, I have a hard time believing it will require less energy to manufacture a pound of synthetic beef than it will to simply grow it naturally. Am I wrong?

Maybe not initially, but there are probably more (humane) opportunities to optimize a factory process than to do the same thing to animals.

Re: Sergey Brin invests in synthetic beef

#190

Post by mistercow »

philwelch wrote: post #157
mistercow wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't really about factory farms or anything specific. It's a broader issue of people thinking with their gut without calibrating their gut first. If you get chills about things that are irrational to be averse to, and don't get chills about things that make sense to be averse to, then you need to either figure out how to bring your instincts in line with reality, or learn when to ignore your instincts.

Where "reality" is evidently defined as agreement with you?

Where reality is defined as reality. Aversion to synthetic meat, as a concept, is irrational. There is no reason for it. If you disagree, explain your reason.
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