# Vegetarians, would you eat this? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595 "2005-08-11T15:45:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/1 "2005-08-11T15:45:11Z")
Coming someday to a supermarket near you… [lab-grown meat](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/08/11/laboratory_cultured_meat_home_home_on_the_strange/). If you’re a vegetarian for moral reasons, could you see yourself eating this? Let’s say that the starter cells came from a small tissue sample where the animal was not killed. To me (a non-vegetarian), it seems like a great idea, once you get past the creepy side to it. What say you all? ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/2 "2005-08-11T16:07:33Z")
I wouldn’t eat it. Not 'cause of any ethical issues (the primary reason I don’t eat meat) but because I prefer to eat food that’s been unscrewed around with. Plus, I eat fairly low-fat, low cholesterol and have excellent numbers as a consequence of not eating meat so I don’t have any motivation to add it to my diet. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/3 "2005-08-11T16:09:32Z")
I would absolutely eat it, and be delighted. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/4 "2005-08-11T16:59:22Z")
Not a chance. But mostly because that really does seem the definition of “Frankenfood”. A wacked out tomato I can handle, a whacked out turkey? Not so much. Also, I don’t particularly care for meat, so there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/5 "2005-08-11T17:21:43Z")
[Slightly on topic, and amusing.](http://www.e-sheep.com/turkey/) In any event, that is the sort of thing that I would think about but would probably wait for it to be on the market for quite some time to see if there are any problems with it before I acutally ate it. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/6 "2005-08-12T03:14:31Z")
IMO, that sounds disgusting. Creating muscle cells on a flat sheet that need to be stretched and “exercised”. The whole pink jell-o comment made me want to vomit. I don’t eat meat much, if I can help it. I’m not adamant about it, but I too try to not eat food that’s too screwed around with. That article was yucky. -foxy ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/7 "2005-08-12T03:16:56Z")
I’ll pass. These days, the idea of eating meat doesn’t appeal to me at all. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/8 "2005-08-12T03:20:30Z")
I’ve been a vegetarian for about 15 years now, and I have no desire to eat meat. It’s not so much an ethical issue for me a health/longevity issue. So, no, I wouldn’t eat the range-free chicken. What’s the point when I can eat [Veat](http://www.veat.com/about.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/9 "2005-08-12T03:51:08Z")
I am on the fence. I think I’d have to know more about it. It’s also a lot of trouble to go through to have meat, when you can get your protein in much easier, less dietarily controversial ways, sans cholesterol, sans laboratory. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/10 "2005-08-12T04:48:03Z")
I’d have to pass as well. The only way it would be palatable is if they actually managed to reproduce every biological process that takes place in the muscle tissue of a fish, chicken, pig, or cow, which means that all the reasons a vegetarian diet is healthier would still hold true. Now, for those who are vegetarian simply for moral reasons - this is great news, and I’ll gladly support this product’s introduction into the market once it’s proven safe. ---
**Author:** ![Bimble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bimble)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/11 "2005-08-12T05:19:35Z")
Ick!! I’ve been a veggie for 20-odd years and like most veggie folk here, as well as the we-don’t-wanna-eat-moo-cows, I’d go along with the idea that i don’t want to eat anything that has been …er… “artifically created”. That said, if I was at a friends house and they offered me Factory-Made Artificial Meat Product, i MIGHT nibble a corner out of courtesy, but I REALLY don’t think I could tuck in with any great gusto… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/12 "2005-08-12T06:53:23Z")
Well, vegans aren’t going to eat it. The biopsy to get the initial cellular culture would be enough to put them off, given that they won’t eat honey because it’s an unethical use of the bees, um, labor or something. I’m a carnivore, so I’d only have two questions: Is it safe? And is it tasty? And probably not in that order. I personally doubt it’ll be tasty, at least not until they done several decades of R&D. ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/13 "2005-08-12T07:56:47Z")
Naw…I like my meat fresh off the animal. But then, if I had to choose between lab meat and no meat at all, I’d go for the lab meat. Mmm…protein…_gargle_ ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/14 "2005-08-12T11:41:36Z")
> [@Sengkelat](#): > > Well, vegans aren’t going to eat it. The biopsy to get the initial cellular culture would be enough to put them off, given that they won’t eat honey because it’s an unethical use of the bees, um, labor or something. Quick note from an enthusiastic honey-eater: the harvesting of honey can result in a lot of bee-deaths, and the vegans I’ve known avoided honey for this reason, not because it was bee-slave labor. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/15 "2005-08-12T20:41:43Z")
I’m one of those flexitarians (I get to use the new word I learned!) who’s sort of vegetarian – I’ll eat birds and fish, but that’s it. I cheerfully buy vegetarian food and [Field Roast](http://www.fieldroast.com/) vegan grain meat which seems to be much the same thing as Veat, only locally made. Makes for great sandwich filling. That said, lab meat… I don’t know. I _might_ try it once, just to see what it’s like, but on the whole, probably not. Waiting to see if there’re any problems with it (olestra comes to mind, as does one of the funniest threads evar on here. 😃 ) sounds like an excellent idea. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/16 "2005-08-13T00:07:16Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > to see if there are any problems with it _(Subtitle: Berkeley, CA. Microphone held to man-on-street interviewee.)_ “Yeah, I, I dunno. He just, he took a big bite, and then he, like, paused a second, and then, bam, he just changed.” _(cut to pulsing cronenbergian mass)_ ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/17 "2005-08-13T02:22:50Z")
> [@Sengkelat](#): > > Well, vegans aren’t going to eat it. The biopsy to get the initial cellular culture would be enough to put them off, given that they won’t eat honey because it’s an unethical use of the bees, um, labor or something. > > I’m a carnivore, so I’d only have two questions: Is it safe? And is it tasty? And probably not in that order. > > I personally doubt it’ll be tasty, at least not until they done several decades of R&D. Slight nitpick: not all vegans don’t eat honey. Just like not all vegans don’t eat granulated sugar. Been vegan 8 years, eat honey and sugar. Mostly because I don’t consider insects “animals” for purposes of eating. Much like I don’t hesitate to smoosh a spider or kill an ant. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/18 "2005-08-13T02:46:13Z")
That kind of stuff is up there with Quorn. If its existence in nature is not even remotely possible, I try to avoid it. If there had been Quorn bushes and meat trees around for a few millennia, well, I _might_ try it. But man-made meat? Uck, oog, ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/19 "2005-08-13T03:09:37Z")
Hmm… I’m sensing a little reluctance. Yeah, I have to admit, it’s a bit of a mental hurdle. (Though so was Quorn, when you think about it.) Well, even for those who can’t get past the ick factor, here’s a comforting thought – by the time this stuff comes to market, science will know a thing or two about tissue replacement. Bad heart? Toss it – start fresh. ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595/20 "2005-08-17T18:17:09Z")
I wouldn’t eat it. Although the ethical aspect of it is the primary reason for my not eating meat, I also don’t support genetic modification and other potentially dangerous laboratory fuckeries… The long-term effects of things like this are unknown. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarians-would-you-eat-this/316595.md?page=2)