I’m always reluctant to generalize about Buddhism because there are so many different sects, but… Not really, no. There is the concept of karma, which is natural consequences for one’s actions, but a driving force of the decision not to eat meat is that Buddhists believe there is no independently arising self, therefore, to harm another living being is to harm yourself. The desire to prevent the suffering of all living beings is supposed to spring naturally from a deepened understanding of how we are all the same thing.
A craving for meat is just like a craving for anything else. It causes suffering. So it is not wrong in some moral sense but it is wrong in that it reinforces a view that will lead to suffering. And if you are trying to live a life free from suffering, giving in to cravings is not the way to do it.
All of this is, of course, easier said than done. I keep waiting for all my compulsive eating issues to magically go away but they haven’t yet. Go figure.
I read that the Buddha’s prohibition against meat likely came as a response to the incredible violence that was happening all around at the time. This was the Bronze age, a time of advanced warfare and great cruelty. And he wanted to set his teachings apart from this incredible violence.
So what? I wanna know. That’s what.
I can have but little sugar or sweets. I don’t crave it.
People felt sorry for me because I never got to have holiday treats, as a kid. I’ve never wanted the “diabetic” candy or diet sodas, either.
It has bothered others way more than me.
I don’t mean to be rude @Beckdawrek, but I’m having an awfully hard time understanding some of the points you’re trying to make. Definitely could be me.
If lab meat becomes widely available and indistinguishable from real meat, it will likely be more expensive. At that point I imagine I’ll be buying whichever is cheaper.
For me, not eating animals is a low bar. I don’t even care for the taste that much. Not eating anything produced by animals is a very high bar. That would include cheese, honey, eggs … nope.
I’m already paying substantially more to get meat that’s less-cruelly raised. I expect vat-meat to be cheaper than what I’m buying today, but I’ll probably switch even if it isn’t, assuming it tastes like real meat.
Yeah, not eating meat is a very high bar for me. I love it.
Not eating veal is a low bar, as it tastes to me like bland beef. That’s why i haven’t been following the issue for a few years. But i love pork, so my reduced pork consumption has been an actual sacrifice.
My gf does this. That’s fine, but I buy the regular meat and there’s no taste difference between the two. She doesn’t bring it up when we’re eating pulled pork that I bought and cooked.
From what I read, laboratory grown meat will, at least initially, be very expensive. I can imagine trying it for the novelty, but price will likely keep me away after.
I don’t buy the expensive meat for the flavor. But the chicken has much better flavor and is a little tougher. The beef is a little worse in flavor and the texture is similar, imho.
The first LED lightbulb i bought was $100, and overheated and burnt out quickly. I expect vat-meat to be very expensive when it first hits the market, and yeah, purchase will be for the novelty only. But like other new tech, i expect the price to drop substantially.
I have high hopes for lab-grown meat. Anything that can reduce the amount of animal suffering in this world is a cause worth fighting for. Our species has had far too much to answer for in this world, and it hasn’t helped any that we’ve destroyed a good deal of our biosphere as well. Assuming we survive the Holocene extinction event that we caused, we should learn to repent and become a more compassionate civilization.
Cultured meat grown in labs will change how we eat meat by using animal cells instead of raising and slaughtering animals, which also helps the ecosystem. To make this meat affordable and tasty, companies like Upside Foods and Eat Just are finding cost-effective ways to grow these cells and improve production.
Lab-grown meat needs to taste as good as regular meat to attract meat lovers. Scientists are enhancing flavor and texture by choosing better cells, using 3D printing to mimic natural structures, and adding natural flavors, aiming to make it indistinguishable from traditional meat.
To make lab-grown meat widely available, it must pass regulatory approvals and establish a distribution network. Some restaurants are already serving lab-grown chicken, but it will take time to reach a larger market and educate consumers on its environmental and ethical benefits.
The most significant advantage of lab-grown meat is reducing animal suffering by reducing or eliminating slaughterhouses. It’s a humane alternative for those of us concerned about animal welfare.
“Initially” is the key word here. I don’t know why this would be different from most breakthroughs: expensive on the leading edge, increasingly cheaper as techniques improve and economies of scale emerge.
It takes two to make an argument and escalate things into an exchange of judgments and insults. I refrain from being that 2nd person so, even if a vegan is aggressive in sharing their opinion/beliefs, I generally don’t respond. They normally wind down and stop on their own. Once, though, and because of an unusually obnoxious person, I responded by baring my teeth and saying, “I was born with canine teeth and teeth for cutting and tearing. Love me for who I am.”
Very interesting article. I’m interested in how, once this is scaled up, vegans will respond. If, instead of 34 million cattle being slaughtered each year, nine cattle are housed in laboratories as a source of cells for culture, will they object?
I would object (which is to say: not buy it) if it were a permanent requirement.
If it were a temporary requirement and ethical standards were being met for that period, then that’s fine.
It depends. How are the cells harvested? Is it painless? Do the cows hang around in pleasant pastures in the meantime, grazing and doing cow stuff? No idea.
I also thought that once the strain was isolated there is no need for any real live cows anymore. But what do I know.