Lab-Grown Meat Chunks - It's What's For Dinner

jonerik writes "CNN has this story on a NASA-funded project being conducted at Touro College in New York. In the experiment, segments of muscle are cut from large goldfish and placed in a vat of 'nutrient-rich liquid,' with the fish chunks growing by 16% within a week. It is hoped that future developments will permit astronauts on long-term missions to include fresh meat in their diet without having to bring along actual animals and fish into space. New Scientist is also reporting the story."

Comments

hydroponic meat?

[myc]

would any vegans care to comment on what your views would be on "hydroponic" meat? That is, meat grown from cloned cells and/or DNA, instead of that harvested from live animals. I think that hydroponic meat will be the wave of the future. "Growing" meat using livestock is simply not environmentally cost effective.

Re:The Matrix?

[Tackhead]

> I figure one day there will be a big market for vat-grown filet mignon at one-third the price of the real thing. Of course, it will probably be cost-prohibitive for many years.

I could go for that -- for non-steakeaters, the filet is a prized cut because it's tender. The filet's tenderness is a function of the fact that it's a muscle that doesn't get much use.

Before I commit to a lunch of vat-grown meat, I'd like to know how the hunks of meat develop a grain or texture.

Part of what makes "fish" meat good is the flaking and separation of the rows of flesh created by the intervening bones; likewise, the fibers of muscle that comprise the filet are organized in a grain. Steak are cut across the grain to allow any spices/marinades the maximum ability to penetrate the steak, and so that (after cooking), the chunks you cut off the steak are more easily-processed by the molars.

Cuts of meat cut cross-grain (i.e. steaks) are also perceived as more tender because the grain is parallel to the direction of the motion of your teeth, facilitating the work of your molars. (This also applies to your incisors; if you're hungry enough, skip the fork, and if you're really hungry, skip the cooking.)

I have no idea what kind of structure a large mass vat-grown steak (fish or beef) would develop, but I suspect it wouldn't be too hard to induce the cells to create their own structure by passing electric currents through the chunk as it forms, and/or to use a ceramic rod as a substitute for a bone to provide an initial alignment.

Re:Remember "The Shining"?

[maxpublic]

But me, the American who loves meat of all kinds and isn't planning on going to Mars, *wants* Mr. Astronaut to have nice juicy steaks whenever the fuck he feels like it.

A forced Vegan diet undoubtedly qualifies as 'cruel and unusual punishment', at least to anyone who isn't a blazing PETA fanatic. God knows, I'd probably flip out and eat a fellow astronaut if I didn't have any meat for three freakin' years.

Max