Would you eat stem cell-grown bacon?
7 Mar
I ask this question because scientists are on the brink of a breakthrough with the latest technology of replicating meat. In order to find a solution to the growing demand for food production and to counter global warming, Dutch scientists have developed a way to grow edible bacon in the lab with stem cells taken from pigs.
This lab-grown meat is said to be the consistency of scallops and at this early stage in the research, scientists have not dared to taste the meat yet. However, although the meat does not resemble or taste like the real deal yet, this new technology has tremendous potential to provide cheaper alternative to stave off world hunger, make slaughterhouses obsolete and curb global warming.
However, some health experts have expressed their concerns that consuming lab-processed meat could potentially reveal unknown health problems and deficiencies. There are other experts that have also expressed concerns of the adverse effects on the agricultural ecosystems with the reduction of our dependency on livestock and farm animals.
However, if this technology is perfected, scientists believe that they would be able to produce tastier meat that might actually be more nutritious than the real thing. Just imagine a hamburger that prevents heart attack instead of causing them. Therefore, scientists are optimistic as they think that the benefits of this technology far outweigh the risks. I definitely wouldn’t mind having this sort of meat because no animal had to die for my dinner. It is definitely the way to go for a guilt-free dining experience of the future!
(Source : http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/scientists-grow-bacon-from-stem-cells )
Morgan Robinson
Luqman Michel
Reza Pramudya
kampus terbaik
CASEY KAM
I tend to be wary of new foods like these which put food supply in the hands of an elite few. Guess I’m not too keen to be brainy scientists’ guinea pig either. They said aspartame was good, GMO corn was good, and much more, but barely a few decades down the road, there’s so much evidence about how toxic these processed frankenfoods really are.
From the Buddhist point of view, I’ve never quite embraced the hype with mock meats. Yes, we don’t eat animals out of compassion, but what’s the point in feeding our attachment to meat by indulging in mock meats? Isn’t the whole idea about severing attachment and illusion too? It’s especially strange given the abundance of whole foods available in the forms of fruits and vegetables…
Why not just respect Nature and accept it and its produce as they are, instead of finding ways and means to outsmart it rather than becoming friends with it.