In the Netherlands, scientists are close to producing the first artificial meat — stem cell sausage grown in the lab without the need to slaughter animals. The question is whether this means that vegetarians who now refuse to eat meat for philosophical reasons would be able to eat a ribeye without moral qualms.This is an interesting question. I certainly don't pretend that I speak for all vegetarians, put here's my answer.
~ from Guiltless Meat? Scientists Developing Stem Cell Sausage As First Artificial Meat by Jonathan Turley ~
I would not eat stem cell meat like stuff. Personally, I don't trust things like genetically modified organisms or something like this. I can't tell you why, but it just strikes me as wrong on a deep philosophical level.
Besides, I don't eat imitation meat now. I know that some newbie vegetarians still crave the taste of meat, so they eat things like Boca Burgers which taste something like dead flesh. I have no desire to taste dead flesh, so the burger patties I eat aren't the ones that try to pretend to be something they aren't.
To be honest, I can't figure out WHY someone would invest all this time and effort into developing stem cell meat. It's not like there isn't enough food in the world. There is more than enough food; the problem has to do with distribution and economics. Why doesn't someone try to fix that problem first?
So, what do other vegetarian readers think. Would you welcome stem cell meat into your diet?
I'm not vegetarian but I do have some ethical qualms about eating meat.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I like the idea of meat that doesn't require another creature to die I wouldn't be comfortable eating it.
Maybe it wouldn't have any health effects...but maybe it would.
I still would not eat this stuff. It is still meat and my choice to be Veg is not primarily for the animals life but, selfishly, I'm Veg for my own good health.
ReplyDeleteMeat these days is diseased, full of hormones and worse. So why choose a simulated version of the same junk?
Weird.
This is one of the most horrifying things I've heard of in recent times. Ugh! I am MOSTLY vegetarian (I eat it if it's convenient, though if I'm the one buying the food, I almost never buy meat), for a variety of reasons. And no matter what my diet was, this is just plain gross. Talk about processed food! How can this be healthy? Why would anyone want lab meat? Do people really believe it's all the same, that there's no difference in the quality and...essence of meat that comes from a real animal and that which comes from a test tube?
ReplyDeleteThis modern world we live in... how I hate it sometimes. People can make their intellectualizations, but sense is about feeling, about gut, and this makes no sense at all.