# Would you eat vat-grown meat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397 "2011-06-30T15:42:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/1 "2011-06-30T15:42:43Z")
By which I mean [muscle cells that have been grown independently](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat) of any animal - as opposed to FDA approved cloned meat which is where an animal still has to go to the great pasture in the sky. This is purely hypothetical at the moment. But assume no animal is harmed in the process, even in the initial sampling of genetic material. The meat itself is not connected to any central nervous system so there is no pain associated with it. In double-blind tests no difference can be detected between it and regular slaughtered meat. Particularly interested in hearing from vegetarian/vegan dopers, since the cruelty aspect is one of the main pillars of vegetarianism (I don’t eat eggs or meat from battery hens for instance, even though I’m not a veggie). Poll coming in, because I do so love dem polls. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/2 "2011-06-30T15:49:31Z")
With relish! ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/3 "2011-06-30T15:50:27Z")
Certainly. I actually find the idea quite appealing as I’ve never been comfortable with living, thinking, higher life forms being slaughtered for my sustenance. Bring on the vats! ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/4 "2011-06-30T15:57:21Z")
I’m a vegetarian, and I’m sort of on the fence. I think I’d want to know how environmentally-friendly the vat-meat creation process is. Does it require a lot of energy or water or other resources? I’d think it might. I don’t really have any desire to eat meat, but I’d be more willing to incorporate it into my diet if it compared favorably to my other sources of protein in terms of resources. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/5 "2011-06-30T16:00:05Z")
Everything I have read about vat-grown meat indicates it would be more environmentally friendly than conventional meat. If it tastes as good as the real stuff I will buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/6 "2011-06-30T16:01:44Z")
Assuming it actually did taste as good as decent-quality meat, I would eat it and prefer it to regular meat. Though BetsQ’s point about energy/resource consumption is good, too; if it was a lot higher than the (already-high) level of resources used to raise animals for slaughter, I’d have to re-think. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/7 "2011-06-30T16:51:26Z")
I’ve always been excited about the concept of steakoid. My thinking goes that not only would your meat probably be environmentally friendlier, more sanitary, and tailored for the application (you could grow ones with more/less connective tissue for things like steaks vs. braises), but you could also clone terrific steaks. In other words, there could be analysis on what makes a steak taste good, and HOW to make it taste that way- genetics, vat conditions, nutrient blends, etc… Imagine a world where the top USDA Prime filets were as cheap as unknown cut stew meat? Or where hamburger meat is optimized for texture and flavor? How terrific would that be? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/8 "2011-06-30T17:31:57Z")
as long as it wasn’t made by Soylent Corporation ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/9 "2011-06-30T17:38:44Z")
Considering I’d be driving past my cows to get to the store… ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/10 "2011-06-30T17:44:10Z")
I would adore it if it was the equal of live meat. I would love it if I could get all the lobster I could eat, in vat meat if it was significantly cheaper than real lobster. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/11 "2011-06-30T17:45:43Z")
I’d try it, but I can’t say how much I’d like it until I taste it. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/12 "2011-06-30T17:53:28Z")
I’d chomp the hell out of it. And the resources used to make it would factor into the price, so if I liked the price I wouldn’t worry at all about how much water it took to make or whatever the googly fuck. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/13 "2011-06-30T17:57:12Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > Everything I have read about vat-grown meat indicates it would be more environmentally friendly than conventional meat. If it tastes as good as the real stuff I will buy it. Take the cow out of the meat production and you eliminate a major source of methane. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/14 "2011-06-30T18:33:48Z")
dunno. the concept creeps me out to the max and yet there’d be a lot less bloodshed just so i can have my steak. i’d wait quite a while and watch the issue very carefully before sampling any of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/15 "2011-06-30T23:05:23Z")
I have little ethical aversion to eating natural meat to begin with, but I _would_ have at least some preference to clone-vat meat on that angle. However, it also raises the possibility of some expanded meat choices which I _would_ morally objectionable, otherwise. Could I get clone dog, or whale, for instance? Or even…human? Oh, what? Like _you_ wouldn’t at least be _curious!_ ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/16 "2011-06-30T23:08:57Z")
Isn’t the taste of meat effected by the type of feed that the animal eats? How can this concept be replicated with the cloned vat meat? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/17 "2011-06-30T23:09:05Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > I have little ethical aversion to eating natural meat to begin with, but I _would_ have at least some preference to clone-vat meat on that angle. > > However, it also raises the possibility of some expanded meat choices which I _would_ morally objectionable, otherwise. Could I get clone dog, or whale, for instance? > > Or even…human? > > Oh, what? Like _you_ wouldn’t at least be _curious!_ Well, it is an option on the poll, although so far no takers for a nice slice of vat-grown long-pig. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/18 "2011-06-30T23:12:18Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > I have little ethical aversion to eating natural meat to begin with, but I _would_ have at least some preference to clone-vat meat on that angle. > > However, it also raises the possibility of some expanded meat choices which I _would_ morally objectionable, otherwise. Could I get clone dog, or whale, for instance? > > Or even…human? > > Oh, what? Like _you_ wouldn’t at least be _curious!_ By definition cloned meat wouldn’t have an ethical quandry as it does not require an animal to be killed or harmed. Whale, btw is delicious. To the OP, Yes I’d eat it, and if the price was cheaper, (as it well should be) Then I’d prefer it to traditional meats for general use, and limit my consumption of animals to game and special meals. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/19 "2011-06-30T23:54:20Z")
Sure, I’ll try it. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397/20 "2011-07-01T00:13:31Z")
count me in as being creeped out by the whole idea. I honestly don’t know if I could eat it or not. It would be pretty important that all the sensory factors are identical, because texture can be a huge issue for me. The texture of mushrooms, fat off of meat and calamari can all make me gag. I guess my experience with it would be no different from now. Hell, maybe the meat we buy is already vat-meat and we don’t even know it yet! All I see is a cleanly wrapped piece of meat at the store. I shouldn’t be creeped out - and it is clearly good for animals since we don’t treat meat animals very well - but it would probably take me a while to get over it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-eat-vat-grown-meat/587397.md?page=2)