Sunday, February 19, 2012

But What to Call It?

Scientists are cloning and growing muscle tissue in lab dishes. They have many reasons to, of course. Meat from animals isn't highly profitable and it's very labor intensive. The feed, the drugs, the 2-3 years of growing and tending, are costly. Animals put out methane, too, and when a big joint like ConAgra has tens of thousands of beef cattle in one place (as they do), clouds of methane rise and help climate change happen. After ten years in the meat business, I know these things are true. It's in every issue of every meat industry publication. The industry is looking for a miracle. Scientists may have it.

They are currently growing lab dishes of it in very small bits. The plan is to have these produced in sheets that will be ground and made into burger.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/19/test-tube-burger-meat-eating

Technically, it's not meat. So what to call it? Sceat? Dishbeef? Labeef? 

Whatever it gets called, I'll pass.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

fauxboef

Austan said...

Lawless- I like that!

Geo. said...

Excellent first step. Since the aim is to grow living tissue cheaply on a large scale, and some of us are at an age where spare parts might be welcome, I'd call it promising. McTransplant maybe --beats U-Pull-It Organ Yard.

Austan said...

Geo- I'm sure the rich will start having their own organs cloned, grown and stored in our lifetimes. I am eternally grateful that I'm mortal and hope reincarnation doesn't exist.

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

Hmm. In 10 years we might be asking for a McHuman Burger. And why not. Human proteins are the most easily assimilable of all animal proteins, and no-one would really be harmed if we ate cultured human muscle tissue.

I wonder if it would taste of pork or chicken?

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Well, I guess it wouldn't be much worse that the icky pink chemical McD's was putting into their burger. I guess.