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I'm surprised at the claim that it does 80-percent fewer greenhouse emissions. The recent research suggests that lab-grown meat may not be better than conventi

I'm surprised at the claim that it does 80-percent fewer greenhouse emissions. The recent research suggests that lab-grown meat may not be better than conventional meat (at least for beef) because a part of cows emissions are methane related that dissipates fast while majority of emissions for lab grown meat is CO2 that stays in the atmosphere for long. From https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00005/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.0000... >We conclude that cultured meat is not prima facie climatically superior to cattle; its relative impact instead depends on the availability of decarbonized energy generation and the specific production systems that are realized.

yboris 5y ago
How do you reconcile your claim that "methane ... dissipates fast" with this: > Methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane
- wavefunction 5y ago
  It seems like a faulty way to analyze the problem in any case. Atmospheric methane devolves into CO2 in about eight years, "on average." CO2 emitted into the atmosphere appears to stick around for 300-1000 years. The heat-trapping of methane is obviously much greater during that eight years but then it devolves into CO2. I guess the only way to draw a real conclusion would be comparing the amount of Methane+subsequent CO2 resulting from traditional animal husbandry with the amount of CO2 produced by this lab process.
  - yboris 5y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_methane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_methane > The 20-year global warming potential of methane is 84. That is, over a 20-year period, it traps 84 times more heat per mass unit than carbon dioxide (CO2). For us, the well-off HN folks, there is no reason to consume meat other than to have a meal that tastes different than another meal we could have instead. We individually could choose to make choices that result in less methane (and CO2 as well) produced, by simply eating more plant-based meals.
nicoburns 5y ago
> a part of cows emissions are methane related that dissipates fast while majority of emissions for lab grown meat is CO2 that stays in the atmosphere for long. Methane "dissipates" into CO2. It's strictly worse in terms of its affect on the climate.

yboris 5y ago

How do you reconcile your claim that "methane ... dissipates fast" with this: > Methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane

wavefunction 5y ago
It seems like a faulty way to analyze the problem in any case. Atmospheric methane devolves into CO2 in about eight years, "on average." CO2 emitted into the atmosphere appears to stick around for 300-1000 years. The heat-trapping of methane is obviously much greater during that eight years but then it devolves into CO2. I guess the only way to draw a real conclusion would be comparing the amount of Methane+subsequent CO2 resulting from traditional animal husbandry with the amount of CO2 produced by this lab process.
- yboris 5y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_methane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_methane > The 20-year global warming potential of methane is 84. That is, over a 20-year period, it traps 84 times more heat per mass unit than carbon dioxide (CO2). For us, the well-off HN folks, there is no reason to consume meat other than to have a meal that tastes different than another meal we could have instead. We individually could choose to make choices that result in less methane (and CO2 as well) produced, by simply eating more plant-based meals.

nicoburns 5y ago

> a part of cows emissions are methane related that dissipates fast while majority of emissions for lab grown meat is CO2 that stays in the atmosphere for long. Methane "dissipates" into CO2. It's strictly worse in terms of its affect on the climate.