# Would you be too chicken to try this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314 "2017-03-16T16:13:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/1 "2017-03-16T16:13:11Z")
A company claims that [it can grow real chicken meat in a lab.](https://consumerist.com/2017/03/15/company-says-it-can-grow-real-chicken-meat-in-a-lab-would-you-eat-it/) Would you be willing to give it a try? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/2 "2017-03-16T16:20:29Z")
Sure. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/3 "2017-03-16T16:23:06Z")
Why not? In the future, we all probably will be. The next big thing on the menu will probably reverse–genetically engineered dinosaur meat. I’d give that a try too! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/4 "2017-03-16T16:25:21Z")
From the link. > [@](#): > > The testers said the samples, which were breaded and deep-fried, tasted similar to traditional chicken, noting that many would eat it again. I’ll wait until it actually tastes like chicken that’s _not_ breaded and deep-fried. Right now , it appears it just tastes fowl. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/5 "2017-03-16T16:25:58Z")
Speaking as someone with some knowledge of the conditions under which the clucking kind of chicken is currently produced in the USA, I would have zero issues trying meat that was produced in a laboratory environment. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/6 "2017-03-16T16:33:59Z")
If by “traditional chicken” they mean “chicken now sold in supermarkets,” that ain’t traditional chicken. Few people alive today know what true traditional chicken tasted like. All of the flavor has been bred out. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/7 "2017-03-16T16:40:01Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If by “traditional chicken” they mean “chicken now sold in supermarkets,” that ain’t traditional chicken. Few people alive today know what true traditional chicken tasted like. All of the flavor has been bred out. Are you sure about that? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/8 "2017-03-16T16:40:27Z")
No problem here with vat-grown meat, as long as the flavor and texture is right. In Iain Banks’ short story The State of the Art, aliens observing Earth surreptitiously collect cell samples from some of the worst people in the world and grow and eat tissue cultures from them to show disrespect: _‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Li said, standing with a bowl in one hand and a silver fork in the other. ‘A little taste of Earth… no; more than that: a chance for you to participate in the rough and tumble of living on a squalid backwater planet without actually having to leave your seat or get your feet dirty.’ He stabbed a bit of the meat, put it in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. ‘Human flesh, ladies and gents; cooked muscle of hom. sap.… as I suspect few of you might have guessed. A little on the sweet side for my palate, but quite acceptable. Eat up.’_ _I shook my head. Roghres snorted. Tel put her spoon down. I sampled some of Li’s unusual dish while he continued. ‘I had the ship take a few cells from a variety of people on Earth. Without their knowledge, of course.’ He waved the sword vaguely at the table behind us. ‘Most of you over there will be eating either Stewed Idi Amin or General Pinochet Chilli Con Carne; here in the centre we have a combination of General Stroessner Meat Balls and Richard Nixon Burgers. The rest of you have Ferdinand Marcos Sauté and Shah of Iran Kebabs. There are, in addition, scattered bowls of Fricaséed Kim II Sung, Boiled General Videla, and Ian Smith in Black Bean Sauce… all done just right by the excellent - if leaderless - chef we have around us. Eat up! Eat up!’_ You wouldn’t be able to produce any fresh Idi Amin or Richard Nixon these days, but I’d try some Kim Jung Un or Robert Mugabe or…well…you know who. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/9 "2017-03-16T16:50:37Z")
I’m generally in favor of vat grown meat, as long as it doesn’t end up requiring more energy and water or even more antibiotics and hormones as the live stuff does. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/10 "2017-03-16T16:53:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Kim Jung Un or Robert Mugabe or…well…you know who. The Clintons? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/11 "2017-03-16T17:01:02Z")
If there’s a dish on the menu that I’ve not had, that’s probably what I’m going to order. The big question is ‘would I eat it a second time?’, and, well, we’re going to have to wait and see. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/12 "2017-03-16T17:02:13Z")
Sure, I’d try lab-grown chicken. What about chicken-fried lab rat? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/13 "2017-03-16T17:09:02Z")
I’ve eaten all sorts of Korean delicacies. Lab-Chicken would be a walk in the park. Although, I suspect if they had to bread, and deep fry it, it probably isn’t “there” yet. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/14 "2017-03-16T17:16:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If by “traditional chicken” they mean “chicken now sold in supermarkets,” that ain’t traditional chicken. Few people alive today know what true traditional chicken tasted like. All of the flavor has been bred out. That’s what the bread crumbs are for. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/15 "2017-03-16T17:33:48Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Are you sure about that? If **terentii** ’s not sure, I am. The fact that most supermarket chickens are all of 5-6 weeks old when butchered, and have 10-15% salt water as part of their total weight is my cite. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/16 "2017-03-16T17:36:32Z")
Why wouldn’t I try it? I’ve eaten much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/17 "2017-03-16T17:47:43Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > If **terentii** ’s not sure, I am. > > The fact that most supermarket chickens are all of 5-6 weeks old when butchered, and have 10-15% salt water as part of their total weight is my cite. [Confirmation.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumping) In fact, it can get as high as 30%. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/18 "2017-03-16T17:58:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A company claims that [it can grow real chicken meat in a lab.](https://consumerist.com/2017/03/15/company-says-it-can-grow-real-chicken-meat-in-a-lab-would-you-eat-it/) Would you be willing to give it a try? sure. It’d probably be kind of a “meat paste” or mush like Armour Potted Meat, or SPAM. not sure how they’d replicate the muscle fibers themselves. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/19 "2017-03-16T18:05:05Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > sure. It’d probably be kind of a “meat paste” or mush like Armour Potted Meat, or SPAM. not sure how they’d replicate the muscle fibers themselves. How much [soy protein are we planning to fortify this vat-chicken with](http://kfor.com/2017/02/27/chicken-at-subway-only-contains-about-50-percent-chicken-dna-study-says/)? ETA: the crucial issue I would have with vat-grown tissue has already been hinted at: actual meat isn’t just a pad of muscle cells. It contains connective tissue, fat cells, blood vessels, maybe some nerves, and an assortment of biochemicals that were in the tissue while it was still alive. Some of that certainly must feature into the eating experience, and unless the vat-o-chicken replicates a lot of that it simply won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314/20 "2017-03-16T18:35:51Z")
From the link in the OP: > [@](#): > > But the prospect of using lab-grown meats to feed the masses isn’t something that will happen anytime soon. In fact, the WSJ reports that one pound of Memphis Meat chicken costs $9,000. By comparison, chicken breast sold in grocery stores currently averages $3.22/pound. Sure, I’ll try it **Czarcasm** , but you’re buying 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-too-chicken-to-try-this/782314.md?page=2)