Jed sez: >> What I'm trying to suggest is that test tube meat will never, EVER, >> no matter what they try engineering will taste like farm grown meat. >> They may get the product to taste and feel closer to the original >> flavors and textures, and that's ok, but they will never be able to >>create the original enchilada.
> I think it is far too early in the development of this technology to > make that prediction. I agree. It was a personal opinion, FWIW. > However, as long as we are speculating, let me make two > counter-predictions. In the distant future, decades or centuries > after the technology is perfected: > > 1. In vitro meat will taste far better than farm grown meat. By > present day standards it will be as good as the finest Kobe beef, > or whatever the best cut is. (I wouldn't know.) There will also > be cheaper, tougher cuts suitable for stew or pot roast. I agree on all accounts. However, I don't think it will take centuries. Back in the 1980s I personally envisioned that one day we would see meat growing factories. My personal vision involved vast processing rooms where they would grow muscled tissue on specially prepared surface membrane structures. The structures would allow blood vessels and nerve endings to grow through the artificial membrane and into the muscle tissue allowing the product to grow thick and fibrous. Fully functional nerves would occasionally be stimulated to tone up the muscle tissue. Genetically engineered blood would flow through the artificial membrane and circulate though the muscle tissue bringing nutrients and oxigen and removing all the toxins to be reprocessed in other areas of the factory. The "toxins" could be collected and processed as a high grade form of nitrogen fertilizer. When it was time to harvest the tissues, one simply peals the product off the artificial membrane. The membrane is then prepared for the next growth cycle. And while we're at it, we might as well manufacture skin, or the exterior hide, some with and some sans hair. Some of the finest leather Gucci purses, shoes, and Harley Davidson Jackets and mink stoles will come from this process. > 2. The most popular flavor will be the meat of Homo sapiens. Ah! Long Pig! There's more than one way to serve man. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
