Fake meat, are you in, or do you want dead animals?

[Spy Bee 3,343]

Singapore approves lab-grown 'chicken' meat

Singapore has given regulatory approval for the world’s first “clean meat” that does not come from slaughtered animals.

The decision paves the way for San Francisco-based startup Eat Just to sell lab-grown chicken meat.

The meat will initially be used in nuggets, but the company hasn’t said when they will become available.

Demand for alternatives to regular meat has surged due to consumer concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment.

According to Barclays, the market for meat alternatives could be worth $140bn (£104bn) within the next decade, or about 10% of the $1.4tn global meat industry.

• UK scientists growing 'bacon' in labs
• McDonald's to introduce plant-based burgers
• Persuading China to switch to 'fake' pork

Plant-based meat options such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are increasingly found on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.

But Eat Just’s product is different because it is not plant based, but instead grown from animal muscle cells in a lab.

Breakthrough

The company called it a "breakthrough for the global food industry" and hopes other countries will now follow suit.

Over the last decade, dozens of start-ups have attempted to bring cultured meat to market, hoping to win over conventional meat eaters with the promise of a more ethical product.

Two of the largest are Israel-based Future Meat Technologies and the Bill Gates-backed Memphis Meats, which are both trying to enter the market with affordable and tasty lab grown meats.

Singapore’s Shiok Meats is working on lab grown crustacean meats.

While many have touted the environmental benefits, some scientists have suggested it might be worse for climate change under some circumstances.

Challenges ahead

By Mariko Oi, BBC News Singapore

The boss of Eat Just called it "one of the most significant milestones in the food industries" but challenges remain.

Firstly, it is much more expensive to produce lab-grown meat than plant-based products.

Case in point: Eat Just previously said it would sell lab-grown chicken nuggets at $50 each.

The cost has since come down but it will still be as expensive as premium chicken.

Another challenge for the company is the reaction of consumers.

But Singapore's approval of Eat Just's product will likely attract competitors to set up operations in the city state, and it could also prompt other countries to approve it, too.

Safe ‘novel food’

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said an expert working group reviewed data on Eat Just’s manufacturing control and safety testing of the cultured chicken.

“It was found to be safe for consumption at the intended levels of use, and was allowed to be sold in Singapore as an ingredient in Eat Just’s nuggets product,” the SFA said.

The agency said it has put in place a regulatory framework for “novel food” to ensure that cultured meat and other alternative protein products meet safety standards before they are sold in Singapore.

“I'm sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe,” said Josh Tetrick, the Eat Just co-founder in a media release.

No antibiotics were used in the process, and the chicken had lower microbiological content than conventional chicken, the company said.

“The first-in-the-world regulatory allowance of real, high-quality meat created directly from animal cells for safe human consumption paves the way for a forthcoming small-scale commercial launch in Singapore,” Eat Just said.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55155741

[Bjornebye 24,959]

If I was to order nuggets from maccies I would be fairly confident that I wouldn't be eating real chicken. 

 

My missus being vegan has made me eat far less meat. I couldn't ever give it up and certainly couldn't give up fish but I do think everyone should make an effort to cut back a bit. Plant based food is ace and the meat industry is appalling. 

[Section_31 19,508]

Doesn't bother me as long as it's meat. I just like it, I don't take any pleasure in knowing it was once alive. If you can clone it or grow it then great. 

[Spy Bee 3,343]

It's so efficient, currently a third of the earth's land is dedicated to growing crops, to feed animals, so that we can have meat, and that uses up loads of water. This is a complete no brainer for me. Give me that never having lived meat all day!

 

[ZonkoVille77 5,445]

If it makes me mickey grow a few more cm's then I'm all for it.

[Barrington Womble 8,581]

I heard about this lab grown stuff recently. Apparently it does a job for things like nuggets, but because it's not real muscle and it's never worked like a muscle does, you wouldn't want a piece of it. 

 

I haven't tried any of the veggie alternatives - I was getting ready to until I had a meeting before Christmas with a fella who's wife is vegan, so he rarely gets to eat meat. He raved about how good one or two of the meat free burgers are, then ordered a beef burger and took it all back and said there's no comparison. 

 

If i come across something on offer and I might give something a whirl, but I love meat so don't expect the alternatives we have today be up to the mark. But I see the benefit for the planet of 2 or 3 meals a week you could eat a credible alternative. 

[Bobby Hundreds 7,931]

Let Singapore test it out for a decade or so and if its safe i say we eat the Singaporeans.

[TheHowieLama 10,729]

Just over 70% of the entire bird population in the world are chickens, some for layin, most for eatin.

 

Crazy. That said, the fake chicken is shite.

 

Impossible Burgers however are quite nice.

[Spy Bee 3,343]

11 minutes ago, Barrington Womble said:

I heard about this lab grown stuff recently. Apparently it does a job for things like nuggets, but because it's not real muscle and it's never worked like a muscle does, you wouldn't want a piece of it. 

Apparently they are now working on steaks and other consistencies.

[dandyman 232]

Tasted a few of the non-meat alternatives - they were Rank!!

 

I'm all for trying to cut back on the volumes of meat we consume globally, but I'd still like my fair (albeit smaller) share of a dead animal cooked and served on a plate 

[Spy Bee 3,343]

4 minutes ago, dandyman said:

Tasted a few of the non-meat alternatives - they were Rank!!

 

I'm all for trying to cut back on the volumes of meat we consume globally, but I'd still like my fair (albeit smaller) share of a dead animal cooked and served on a plate 

We're not talking tofu, we're talking meat grown in a lab.

[Bjornebye 24,959]

Tofu isn't all that bad. I used to hate it but its quite nice, and versatile. Fuck you. 

[Shooter in the Motor 7,506]

1 minute ago, Bjornebye said:

Tofu isn't all that bad. I used to hate it but its quite nice, and versatile. Fuck you. 

You bastard, I saw a Tofu running after a chicken yesterday. The Tofu you ate probably ate chicken before you ate it. 

 

Am I doing this right? 

[dandyman 232]

1 minute ago, Spy Bee said:

We're not talking tofu, we're talking meat grown in a lab.

If Tofu once ran around in a field then I'm all in - but if a Vegan sausage roll didn't once suckle on its mother then I don't want it.

[Rico1304 6,607]

27 minutes ago, Spy Bee said:

It's so efficient, currently a third of the earth's land is dedicated to growing crops, to feed animals, so that we can have meat, and that uses up loads of water. This is a complete no brainer for me. Give me that never having lived meat all day!

 

A third of the earths land?  Really?  A third of it isn’t even capable of being farmed.  

[Rico1304 6,607]

25 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

Just over 70% of the entire bird population in the world are chickens, some for layin, most for eatin.

 

Crazy. That said, the fake chicken is shite.

 

Impossible Burgers however are quite nice.

I’m not having that. I’m calling bullshit. 

[lifetime fan 10,773]

I’ve never tasted a meat ‘alternative’ that was palatable. 
 

But then you don’t have to have fake meat, there’s so many amazing meat free dishes just eat those more often and have higher quality, locally sourced organic meat when you do eat it. 

[TheHowieLama 10,729]

4 minutes ago, Rico1304 said:

I’m not having that. I’m calling bullshit. 

Take it up with Attenborough - heard it on one of his specials - or these folks

https://www.foodsecuritycenter.org/post/70-percent-of-all-birds-on-earth-are-farmed-poultry#:~:text=In other words%2C we do,the wild are just 30%.

 

 

Unless you are questioning the quality of an Impossible Burger.

[Elite 8,603]

If it's a choice between fake meat and insects, I choose the fake meat.

[Harry's Lad 674]

The only meat alternative I have ever tried is that Quorn.

I've shit better, fucking vile.

You can't beat a thick juicy steak, peppercorn sauce, chips and onion rings with some salad.

Food of the gods.

[Bjornebye 24,959]

2 minutes ago, Harry's Lad said:

The only meat alternative I have ever tried is that Quorn.

I've shit better, fucking vile.

You can't beat a thick juicy steak, peppercorn sauce, chips and onion rings with some salad.

Food of the gods.

Try Linda McCartney Mozarella Burgers. 

[TheHowieLama 10,729]

Yep - the burger alternatives have a few good ones - that said I go w cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickle, "special" sauce which makes up most of the taste anyway. I prefer veg/bean burgers to regular now as I am not going to grind my own quality meat and store bought ground beef is shite.

 

Steak however is different - you get what you pay for. And you should pay extra cuz it is worth it.

Chicken is basically muck - birds eating their dead parents and their own shit. 

 

[Poster 2,748]

This might be a great idea for off world living, remember when they said we would be taking a few pills a day instead of food? 
 

How much waste does this process make, how much power does it need, is the body able to to absorb the nutrients in the meat. 

 

Ideally we would all have our own land and grow and eat our own food. However generally speaking we don’t and decided we ought to keep producing more and more humans so that feeding them became an industrial process with little care for the creatures. That’s our own fault.

 

I doubt I’ll live to see synthetic meat as a standard food in my lifetime which is a shame because it might shut vegans up a little and that’s a positive right there. 
 

 

[Aventus 1,997]

46 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

Just over 70% of the entire bird population in the world are chickens, some for layin, most for eatin.

 

Crazy. That said, the fake chicken is shite.

 

Impossible Burgers however are quite nice.

Add to that the fact nearly all of the male chicks are useless, they aren't for eatin' and they aren't for layin'.

 

Got a cock? Straight to the gas chamber you go. 

[mattyq 1,981]

Quorn mince is pretty good for making Chilli or Bolognese