Most People Would Give Lab-Grown Meat a Try, New Survey Reveals (sciencealert.com)

Clive Phillips and Matti Wilks report via ScienceAlert: In a recent survey, published this month in PLOS One, we investigated the views of people in the United States, a country with one of the largest appetites for meat and an equally large appetite for adopting new technologies. A total of 673 people responded to the survey, done online via Amazon Mechanical Turk, in which they were given information about in vitro meat (IVM) and asked questions about their attitudes to it. Although most people (65 percent), and particularly males, were willing to try IVM, only about a third said they would use it regularly or as a replacement for farmed meat. But many people were undecided: 26 percent were unsure if they would use it as a replacement for farmed meat and 31 percent unsure if they would eat it regularly. This suggests there is scope to persuade consumers that they should convert to IVM if a suitable product is available. As an indication of this potential, 53 percent said it was seen as preferable to soy substitutes. The biggest concerns were about IVM's taste and lack of appeal, particularly in the case of meats seen as healthy, such as fish and chicken, where only two-thirds of people that normally ate them said that they would if it was produced by in vitro methods. By contrast, 72 percent of people who normally eat beef and pig products would still do so if they were produced as IVM.

Comments

Not true I bet.

[Anonymous Coward]

And the poll was taken at a vegan fete at a college. Or was it a high school? ROFL. No way that any one over the age of 50 would want to try this if they had a brain in their heads.

Re:Not true I bet.

[mikeiver1]

Um, 50 years old and yes I would. Whats more, if it were decent and the texture was close enough I would integrate it into my diet and a normal thing. We already have soy based meats as part of our diet as it is. In the case of a couple of the products I would defy you to tell the difference of it from meat. The product is that good. In the case of the case of the IVM, I like the idea of it far more than an animal being put through what they are only to be killed in the end for my burger. IF there is an option like the IVM that is close to the taste/texture and even double the price we are there. I sure as hell hate the idea of what animals go through to end up on my plate.

Re:Not true I bet.

[Austerity Empowers]

I guess I'm not sure the entire market for this are vegans. If they could make good quality meat that tastes good more efficiently than the current method, that might solve a lot of problems.

Sorry, true

[fyngyrz]

I'm 60.

Perfectly happy to try it, in fact, looking forward to it a great deal.

You might want to argue that I don't have a brain in my head, or that I'm stupid, but I don't think you can make your case. :)

Lots of very good reasons to want this to work out.

If it tastes better

[hsmith]

why not? i am sure the "gmo = scary" crowd will be against.

Re:If it tastes better

[Notabadguy]

it can't make a big mac *worse*, so i'm all for giving it a try. and 'lab grown' burgers **SHOULD BE** cheaper once the processes are worked out and production can ramp-up. i would NOT, however, even consider a fake steak. a t-bone or prime rib has to be real cow.

Why make assumptions? I would happily try an IVM steak. Don't knock it until you try it, as they say.

That's not to say that I wouldn't try it, think it was absolute rubbish compared to a a "real cow" T-Bone or Prime Rib, then take up an internet crusade against the culinary sin that IVM just turned out to be....

But then again, it might be awesome.

Re:Many people do it already...

[Kellamity]

If you are willing to consume a McNugget, you should be happy to eat actual meat, not matter how it's produced!