4 ms·

Probably just like vertical farming, it uses vastly more energy than traditional farming. Maybe Elon would be interested in this tech for food production on Ma

Probably just like vertical farming, it uses vastly more energy than traditional farming. Maybe Elon would be interested in this tech for food production on Mars where it might make more sense. If it requires a lot of equipment maintenance, it might not even be good on Mars since spare parts are hard to manufacture there.

esperent 4y ago
> Probably just like vertical farming, it uses vastly more energy than traditional farming. That's an unfounded assumption - vertical vegetable farming uses more energy than traditional vegetable farming (with a trade-off of less land). However, farming animals also uses more energy than farmi9 vegetables. So it's possible that lab grown meat won't use more energy than farm grown meat, and will come with enough other benefits - less water and land use, less cruelty, less antibiotics, less risk of cross transmission of disease - that even if there is an increase in energy use, the trade-off will be worth it.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  Farming animals doesn't use more energy than farming vegetables. You use a truly staggering amount of petrochemicals making fertiliser, spreading fertiliser, cultivating fields, planting seeds, harvesting crops, and all the rest of it. Even if you grow silage crops specifically for feeding livestock it's not nearly so much faff and you use a relatively small amount of fertiliser and fuel.
  - MagnumOpus 4y ago
    It definitely uses more energy per calorie produced by a factor of 3 to 10. (Otherwise meat and cheese would cost roughly as much as rice or maize or bread or pasta.)
  - Pxtl 4y ago
    Food that eats food isn't ever going to be efficient.
    - Gordonjcp 4y ago
      Let me know when you figure out how to eat grass.
  - hombre_fatal 4y ago
    All of your problems with growing crops apply more to animals because most crops are grown to feed animals. 77% of soy worldwide is grown just to feed animals, for example. (7% is fed to humans) I don't know how you square the facts with what you want to believe on this issue, though I am curious.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

esperent 4y ago

> Probably just like vertical farming, it uses vastly more energy than traditional farming. That's an unfounded assumption - vertical vegetable farming uses more energy than traditional vegetable farming (with a trade-off of less land). However, farming animals also uses more energy than farmi9 vegetables. So it's possible that lab grown meat won't use more energy than farm grown meat, and will come with enough other benefits - less water and land use, less cruelty, less antibiotics, less risk of cross transmission of disease - that even if there is an increase in energy use, the trade-off will be worth it.

Gordonjcp 4y ago
Farming animals doesn't use more energy than farming vegetables. You use a truly staggering amount of petrochemicals making fertiliser, spreading fertiliser, cultivating fields, planting seeds, harvesting crops, and all the rest of it. Even if you grow silage crops specifically for feeding livestock it's not nearly so much faff and you use a relatively small amount of fertiliser and fuel.
- MagnumOpus 4y ago
  It definitely uses more energy per calorie produced by a factor of 3 to 10. (Otherwise meat and cheese would cost roughly as much as rice or maize or bread or pasta.)
- Pxtl 4y ago
  Food that eats food isn't ever going to be efficient.
  - Gordonjcp 4y ago
    Let me know when you figure out how to eat grass.
- hombre_fatal 4y ago
  All of your problems with growing crops apply more to animals because most crops are grown to feed animals. 77% of soy worldwide is grown just to feed animals, for example. (7% is fed to humans) I don't know how you square the facts with what you want to believe on this issue, though I am curious.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]