The Pros and Cons of Consuming Test Tube Meat
9/30/11
Research project #2
Test Tube Meat Scientists have recently traveled to the Netherlands to check out different laboratories researching test tube meat. This is a recent study and may seem far-fetched but we could be eating this meat in the next couple of years. With a new study like this there will be many controversial Pros and Cons. The two articles I researched online were; Burgers From A Lab: The World Of In Vitro Meat and the other is from Beefmagazine.com: Test Tube Meat. Both of the articles covered the subject thoroughly and helped me to understand the process of in-vitro meat. There are quite a few positive aspects of in-vitro meat. First of all, developing test tube meat will help us with our food control. “Control is the main advantage,” says Mathew (beefmagazine.com). In this modern day, scientists can already control the marbling of meat in live animals. Now scientists say with the in-vitro process, they will be able to control the marbling more accurately. Another benefit would be growing the meat in a highly sterile environment. This would allow for a dramatic decrease of bacterial contamination. Also, test tube meat has the potential to help animal welfare. “Billions of cows, chickens, and pigs would no longer spend their lives force-fed grain and antibiotics or cooped up in factory farms”(npr.org) With new research like this, there will always be some problems to consider with meat grown in a laboratory. The first problem with test tube meat is: Will it taste the same? Scientists assure that is will taste the same but explain that the tissue cells and muscle are just left alone to grow in a lab. Muscle and tissue stimulation is required in order to make the meat good and tender. With all this lab time and scientific research, the steps and procedures required to produce test tube meat is going to be very costly (npr.org). Another problem that comes up is: Will consumers accept it? Millions of people are already eating
Research project #2
Test Tube Meat Scientists have recently traveled to the Netherlands to check out different laboratories researching test tube meat. This is a recent study and may seem far-fetched but we could be eating this meat in the next couple of years. With a new study like this there will be many controversial Pros and Cons. The two articles I researched online were; Burgers From A Lab: The World Of In Vitro Meat and the other is from Beefmagazine.com: Test Tube Meat. Both of the articles covered the subject thoroughly and helped me to understand the process of in-vitro meat. There are quite a few positive aspects of in-vitro meat. First of all, developing test tube meat will help us with our food control. “Control is the main advantage,” says Mathew (beefmagazine.com). In this modern day, scientists can already control the marbling of meat in live animals. Now scientists say with the in-vitro process, they will be able to control the marbling more accurately. Another benefit would be growing the meat in a highly sterile environment. This would allow for a dramatic decrease of bacterial contamination. Also, test tube meat has the potential to help animal welfare. “Billions of cows, chickens, and pigs would no longer spend their lives force-fed grain and antibiotics or cooped up in factory farms”(npr.org) With new research like this, there will always be some problems to consider with meat grown in a laboratory. The first problem with test tube meat is: Will it taste the same? Scientists assure that is will taste the same but explain that the tissue cells and muscle are just left alone to grow in a lab. Muscle and tissue stimulation is required in order to make the meat good and tender. With all this lab time and scientific research, the steps and procedures required to produce test tube meat is going to be very costly (npr.org). Another problem that comes up is: Will consumers accept it? Millions of people are already eating