this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
28 points (96.7% liked)

Science

13820 readers
33 users here now

Studies, research findings, and interesting tidbits from the ever-expanding scientific world.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:


Be sure to also check out these other Fediverse science communities:


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

First off, that hed is terrible. And this could have gone in either Food and Drink or Environment; for that reason, I'm splitting the baby and putting it here, as the "this" referenced is still in research phases.

Inside an anonymous building in Oxford, Riley Jackson is frying a steak. The perfectly red fillet cut sizzles in the pan, its juices releasing a meaty aroma. But this is no ordinary steak. It was grown in the lab next door.

What's strangest of all is just how real it looks. The texture, when cut, is indistinguishable from the real thing.

"That's our goal," says Ms Jackson of Ivy Farm Technologies, the food tech start-up that created it. "We want it to be as close to a normal steak as possible."

Lab-grown meat is already sold in many parts of the world and in a couple of years, pending being granted regulatory approval, it could also be sold in the UK too - in burgers, pies and sausages.

The elephant in the room is the reporter got to see it and smell it being cooked, but because of the lack of approval, couldn't speak to the taste.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 31 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

The only real argument against lab-grown meat is that it might not reduce emissions that much. But even if lab-grown meat has an equivalent carbon footprint to farm-grown, there is still a critical difference: we don't have to kill innocent creatures to produce it.

In the 21st century, we can easily maintain a nutritious, balanced diet without consuming anything produced by an animal. For this fact alone, humans should be reorienting our entire food chain away from animal-based products, because most animal products are produced via factory farms that functionally torture animals from birth to slaughter. But eating meat is so embedded in our culture - we like the taste of it, and most people don't have to face the harsh reality of slaughtering innocent creatures to produce it, so for most people it's actually HARDER to go vegan than it is to just go with the flow.

I hate these "debates" about lab-grown meat for this reason, because to me the controversy seems made up. There are literally no downsides, it just solves this "momentum" problem overnight. Even if the emissions are equivalent, it's still a net gain for the planet because we dramatically reduce suffering worldwide.

[–] Hirom@beehaw.org 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Lab grown meat may increase emissions:

Lab-Grown Meat’s Carbon Footprint Potentially Worse Than Retail Beef

It shouldn't be produced on mass scale unless we're confident it would decrease emissions.

Meanwhile it's better to promote vegarian or flexitarian diets as less carbon-intensive and more ethical options.

load more comments (1 replies)