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I seriously think lab grown meats will save the world, if we can pull it off in a commercially viable fashion.
by hazz99 8y ago
I seriously think lab grown meats will save the world, if we can pull it off in a commercially viable fashion.
- shinryuu 8y agoIt's fascinating how human beings cling to old habits. It's like we as a species couldn't go vegetarian by choice.
- DennisP 8y agoWe could, we just won't. People have been trying to promote that for the past several decades and meat consumption globally has just gone up. The book Clean Meat devotes a chapter to this; historically every culture has consumed more meat when they could afford it. Most people just like it. We almost hunted whales to extinction for their oil. That didn't stop because we persuaded people to quit using oil in their lamps. It stopped because someone invented kerosene. Whaling was the fifth-largest industry in the U.S., and then in thirty years it was gone.
- village-idiot 8y agoWe evolved as omnivores. We are a predatory species. We can’t go vegetarian as a species because we aren’t a vegetarian species.
- ab71e5 8y agoBut we also evolved to have a large cerebral cortex that allows us to make decisions that go against certain impulses because we are able to see the bigger picture. We evolved to conserve energy when possible but we exercise anyway because we know that if we don`t it will be detrimental to our health. And many people are still healthy while on a vegetarian diet so it is possible.
- village-idiot 8y agoWhat a silly assertion. You can ignore evolutionary impulses with your brain when said impulses come from your brain. Your brain can’t override how your metabolism and gut work. Your brain can’t change the bacteria in your gut, or the shape of your teeth. Omnivorism is not an impulse, it’s an attribute of the species. It’s part of who we are.
- DennisP 8y agoI'm not a vegan, but my brother has been a strict vegan for a decade and is quite healthy. Plenty of other people do the same with similar results, including some professional athletes, so clearly it's possible. I just don't think most people can be persuaded to do it.
- village-idiot 8y agoYou’re ignoring what I’m saying. I also don’t believe that vegans are healthy. Sure, they don’t starve (omnivores, after all). But I want to see their regular glucose levels and their mortality rates. The way I eat (omnivore) is ancient, veganism is brand new.
- simoom22 8y agoHumans are primates, and most primates of the world are vegan, or nearly so, including our closest relatives. That's not something new.
- village-idiot 8y agoOur two closest primate relatives are not vegan, they’re omnivores. Bonobos and chimpanzees hunt smaller mammals.
- gnosis89 8y agoMost of their diet is fruit/leaves. The rest is squirrels. I don't see many people eating squirrels, but I see a lot of squirrels.
- taneq 8y agoSpeaking as a life-long vegetarian here, I don't think most people are naturally suited to it. I don't eat meat because I don't want to. I know I'd hate to live my life wanting, say, cheese, or spinach, or whatever, and denying it to myself because of some imagined higher good. I feel like people should embrace their nature. Mine doesn't happen to include eating meat. Most peoples' does, and that's OK.
- ab71e5 8y agoSo then it's a nature/nurture kind of discussion. Do you think some people are genetically unable to stop eating meat? Personally, I think your tastes will adapt, i.e. it wouldn't feel like denying yourself anything after a while. But maybe it's different for some people. Also commercials and just society around you influences your cravings. I think if you would grow up somewhere where there is no dairy for example, you would not crave it.
- taneq 8y agoI don't think they're genetically unable to stop, but I think they're genetically predisposed to prefer eating meat if it's an option. I've gone without dairy for a couple of months here and there (while traveling in Asia where it's much less of a thing than at home) and definitely still missed it by the time I got home.
- mc32 8y agoIt’s as much s habit as it is a habit for lions to hunt prey; or pigs. I understand we could choose to go vegetarian, but it’s more than overcoming “habit”. We’re omnivores, by nature, not by habit. My point is that being facile is detrimental to a cause. Yes, with effort we could become all vegetarians, but it’s more than overcoming habit (a habit is leaving the toilet seat up).
- taneq 8y ago"To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human." - Mouse, The Matrix
- drb91 8y agoDepending on humans to do “the right thing” when it goes against our instincts is not a good way to approach these problems. You need to offer ways for humans to satiate their needs AND do the right thing.
- shinryuu 8y agoYeah I agree. Though I don't think that lab meat will be a panacea.
- mac01021 8y agoI also think so. Moreover, I wish there were a way for me, as an average nonmillionaire, to invest in that as an industry.