Changing our lives in 8 simple ways, or so they say

"Eight Ways In-Vitro meat Will Change Our Lives"

By Hank Hyena, H+ Magazine, 11/17/2009

http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/bio/eight-ways-vitro-meat-will-change-our-lives

The title of the publication says it all. H+. Humans are ante-ing up, and lab-grown food is only one of the many in-the-making revolutions. While this article's particular take on in-vitro meat is a little less than professional (see #4. Healthier Planet), it does bring up eight really noteworthy talking points for the future world of laboratory-engineered food. Let's start chatting about a few of these, shall we?

2. Urban Cowboys

While it all seems well and good for today's ranchers to get the heck out of the country, retrain as city boys, and leave their land to plummet in value for a new wave of national parks and fields, this dramatic change is far from sustainable in today's social climate. We've heard it all far too many times before, but we're in a job crunch, and we're also heading pretty close to overpopulation. While people such at Steven Johnson may disagree that we should stay in the country, the strain that this inflow of unskilled, unemployed workers would cause on today's cities would be remarkable. Until we've pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and fixed this economy, creating new jobs and new infrastructures in the cities, it seems to me all too appealing to just stay in the country.

If we're looking at this from a health care perspective, the social strains on health that one meets in the city are far removed from country and suburban life- fighting for a place to live, food, and clean air? These problems can't be solved over night with new populations entering the cities.

Besides, I doubt the NYPD would really appreciate any shoot-outs breaking out from Madison and Fifth.

3. Healthier Humans

We've heard it, heck we've said it ourselves on this blog. With in vitro meat, we will be able to control every little thing that enters our body from our food. No hormones! No mercury! No dioxin! No! These are only in "primitive" meat. But it's happened before, and it's likely to happen again. Throughout history, as people eliminate microbes and bacteria from their systems, proposing greater health for all, a new problem seems to mysteriously pop up. We eliminated hook worms? Now we have allergies. We took control of bacteria with Purell? Now we have more superclones.

Sure, excess hormones and antibiotics probably aren't staving off the next predator, but what may be? Research has contextual limits, and we may not even know what will happen once meat becomes as "pure" as in-vitro meat proponents are claiming.

On another note regarding meat and its supposed purity: How are we going to get there? While in-vitro meat is grown in labs, it still has to be taken from a meat host. What will happen to meat-eaters if the few animals chosen to give cells to start these cultures aren't the perfect ones scientists are targeting? Will in-vitro meat production rely on just a few samples or several animals?

5. Economic Upheaval

This is something I don't think we've discussed before. Sure, we know that nations that depend on meat for their economic well-being will be in trouble if this in-vitro meat thing catches on, but what about other industries that rely on animal products like leather, wool, dairy, and eggs? Will these industries become less efficient if the animals they kill are not in demand for their meat? Will they be bigger targets for animal activists once the spotlight has been taken off the slaughterhouses?

6. Exotic & Kinky Cuisine

I'm not quite sure what to say. Please, read it. Leave a comment. We'll talk about this... later.

So. In vitro meat. It seems this new item on the menu will have much more to offer than we originally thought. Is this all talk and no walk? We'll have to see once the more technical issues are ironed out, but I for one am frighteningly excited to see what the actual repercussions of test tube meat will be.

For now, though, who's for it? Who's against it? One voice definitely seems to be more vocal in the reputable press. Take our poll (on the right) and tell us what you think!