[extropy-chat] wretched journalists strike again

[Damien Broderick]

Finally, an idea worth talking about in reality (as it's been talked about 
for many decades in sf), and of course some NYT morons declare that it "may 
turn your stomach". (They mean "might turn", but hey.) Yep, so much more 
vomitous than killing animals, pulling off their skin, scooping out their 
guts, then cutting up their dead muscle to eat.


<December 11, 2005


In Vitro Meat

By RAIZEL ROBIN

In July, scientists at the University of Maryland announced the development 
of bioengineering techniques that could be used to mass-produce a new food 
for public consumption: meat that is grown in incubators.

The process works by taking stem cells from a biopsy of a live animal (or a 
piece of flesh from a slaughtered animal) and putting them in a 
three-dimensional growth medium - a sort of scaffolding made of proteins. 
Bathed in a nutritional mix of glucose, amino acids and minerals, the stem 
cells multiply and differentiate into muscle cells, which eventually form 
muscle fibers. Those fibers are then harvested for a minced-meat product.

Scientists at NASA and at several Dutch universities have been developing 
the technology since 2001, and in a few years' time there may be a 
lab-grown meat ready to market as sausages or patties. In 20 years, the 
scientists predict, they may be able to grow a whole beef or pork loin. A 
tissue engineer at the Medical University of South Carolina has even 
proposed a countertop device similar to a bread maker that would produce 
meat overnight in your kitchen.>