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PETA offerd a million dollars for fake meat — even if it has caused a “near civil war” within the organization. They announce plans on Monday for a $1 million prize to the “first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012.”

The idea of getting the next Chicken McNugget out of a test tube is not new. Scientists have worked to develop technologies to grow tissue cultures that could be consumed like meat without the expense of land or feed and the disease potential of real meat for years. An international symposium on the topic was held this month in Norway. The tissue, once grown, could be shaped, given texture, additives & structural agents that give products like soy burgers a more meaty texture.

New Harvest, a nonprofit organization formed to promote the field, says, “Because meat substitutes are produced under controlled conditions impossible to maintain in traditional animal farms, they can be safer, more nutritious, less polluting & more humane than conventional meat.”

Jason Matheny, a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University who formed New Harvest, said the idea of a prize for researchers was promising. Citing the example of the Ansari X Prize, a competition that produced the first privately financed human spacecraft, Mr. Matheny said, “they inspire more dollars spent on a research problem than the prize represents.”

A founder of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, said she had been hoping to get the organization involved in advancing in vitro meat technology for at least a decade. Ms. Newkirk said, the decision to sponsor a prize caused “a near civil war in our office,” since so many PETA members are repulsed by the thought of eating animal tissue, even if no animals are killed.

Lisa Lange, a vice president of the organization, said she was part of the heated exchange. “My main concern is, as the largest animal rights organization in the world, it’s our job to introduce the philosophy and hammer it home that animals are not ours to eat”, “I remember saying I would be much more comfortable promoting eating roadkill.” Ms. Newkirk said the disagreement was natural, adding, “We will have members leave us over this.”
“People say animal rights people can’t agree. Well, human beings can’t agree. In any social cause community, there are people who strive for purity.” Her goal, she said, was more pragmatic. “We don’t mind taking uncomfortable positions if it means that fewer animals suffer.” In that way, she said, “in vitro meat is a godsend.”

For some already working in the field, the news was greeted with a wary welcome.

Henk P. Haagsman, a professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands & an in vitro meat research pioneer, said he welcomed the prize competition. “It will hopefully spark more interest to invest in the technology.” But he said he would not like to see the field dominated by the animal welfare issue, since environmental & public health issues are such important “drivers for this research.” The Netherlands has put $5 million into in vitro meat studies.

Another scientist at Utrecht, Bernard Roelen, said he was “rather surprised” by news of the competition, but said that even with strong financing, it would be extremely difficult to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat before 2012. Professor Roelen added, “For me as a researcher, the announcement does not mean so much.” Why not? “I do research because I want to understand fundamental mechanisms, not to gain fortune.”



So... who's for KFC?

I don't know about that but....

There is a truck stop near my job, and on the counter they have a wicker basket filled with boiled eggs. The marker on cardboard sign for the basket reads, "Boneless Chicken Dinners 35¢"

It never fails to tickle my funny bone.

Ohhh, that's brilliant!

if it taste good...I'd eat it! can't be any worse than Scrapple, hot dogs, fish sticks, or sausage

Well, evidently the only real obstacles for this kind of product would be all the out of work cattle farmers & actually fine tuning the taste of the product to mimic real meats. The farmers could always be given resettlement assistance to switch over to the new business of vat farming.

I think it would be fantastic in theory, provided the science is sound & untainted by commercial interests.
...but boy is that a mouthful!

This troubles me indeed. The bottom line of eating meat is to get the nutrients. not to kill the beast or to be cruel. Part of the cruelty to animals is to pump them full of antibiotics, steroids and hormone's( to make them fat, and not die in captivity). When we eat this flesh we ingest this crap, and are affected by it.

I am horrified to think about what chemicals will be used to keep dead tissue 'alive' so it may grow. I don't want to eat chemicals designed for an un alive mass of growing flesh.

For the love of god why not just eat natural proteins and minerals. You do not have to bake them in a lab and they will not make you grow an extra arm.

Dennis

There are numerous way to grow meat but chemicals are not the basis for the growth process. It is meat & has to be fed just like it's source, the real meats. The growth of lab meat isn't really all that complicated. It's the manipulation of the textures & flavors to reproduce familiar tasting real meats that challenges the scientists. Since blood & connective tissues are the primary flavoring elements to real meats, future petri dish foods will have these elements included. The current sciences are working on blood fed meat with vascular networks to help maintain structure as well as flavour.

I encourage you to do some reading & research on the process.
Nova Science, University of Maryland & The In Vitro Meat Consortium all have extensive information available.

I really hate to be aggressive in my opinion, but this sounds like a future class action law suet.


Dennis (It will happen, unfourtunatly I'm never wrong)

I have a nice cotton vat of meat if anyone's interested in tasting

I'll take a pass on in vitro meat. If we get to that point in society, I'll just catch and kill my wild meat (fish, birds, venison), much better for you too.

Ack homework!, The general idear sounds bad to me but you are entitled to respect. So i'll learn more before saying more.

Dennis (A company that sells a product will not give accurate information on why you should not buy that product)

I'm a card carrying member of PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals!) and I just have to laugh at these... Uh... Individuals.

I b'lieve I'll pass on the testube meat - I've got a much better source for my protein.

I can't help but remember an incident that happened several years ago in (I think) Ohio; Several PETA members went out and tranquilized a bunch of deer and dressed them in blaze orange vests, thinking that hunters wouldn't shoot at anything wearing blaze orange. They didn't stop to think that a DEER wearing blaze orange just makes it that much easier for a hunter to detect. In fact, if I recall, there was even a local sporting goods store offering rewards to anyone who brought in a "deer sized" blaze orange vest!

I hate to be down on any group of people, but these folks have killed and maimed so many animals under the guise of trying to help them that it just makes me sick. (Rant off.)

I wish 'em all the best, but I think I'll stick with something I can more or less recognize.

Notably people, I would hope you could see the core subject here is more to the effect of the growth of meat for consumption to aid the ever expanding foods demand... and not solely about PETA.
Unfortunately their reputation is quite a major inflammatory agent added to the subject... screw what their inner organizational battles are. As it just so happened, they were the ones who stuck their media loving toes into the current subject of in vitro meat growth.


Nothing like having Ron Jeremy telling you about meaty subjects(as he is one of the newest PETA spokesmen for the "Too Much Sex is a Bad Thing" campaign).



... yeah, run with scissors.

Ok, I won't mention _ _ _ _. I wish whoever is doing it all the best, but I think I'd rather my meat didn't come from a laboratory or have anything to do with Ron Jeremy. And for some reason that sounds.....


ARRRRRRGH!

HEEEEELLLLLLP MEEEEEEEE!

Scientist grow a cancerous tumor in a lab and expect me to eat it?

Hi Spicey...nice to see you again!!

Once they can do it and do it profitable , it will be in all of our processed foods, like hotdogs, lunchmeats, TV dinner foods etc.

--- the "Proton Pill " is near

Ever seen chickens in a mega poultry farm??...no feathers because they lose them from stress, walking in wire all day...and on a diet of antibiotics because of the concentration of bacteria....what's the difference??....we may as well eat something in a test tube...how stressed can a culture be??...and it doesn't bleed when you kill it either....

I agree there!!!