I’m also curious about y’all’s take on imitation meat as well.
My assumption is no harm to foul but I am not educated on the subject. Also I mostly mean conceptually, I am aware that lab grown meat is no where near efficient or viable for mass production
The vast majority of it is dependent on fetal bovine serum which is taken from pregnant cows killed in slaughterhouses, and therefore is not vegan.
The small percentage that currently can be produced without FBS is vegan but imo seems significantly less energy and material efficient than just growing legumes or peas, if it can even be made to scale at all
Here is an article that goes into a deep dive about it
You can search serum to scroll down to the section about FBS and other animal serums used
Not needed, we have beans
Lab-grown flesh inherently and explicitly revolves around animal exploitation, and for that reason alone, I must condemn it.
Lab-grown flesh being validated in the animal emancipation movement reminds me of all of the harm that Singerian utilitarian brainrot has done to veganism, and Singer’s facade is too damn strong. The man is literally not even vegan by the layman’s definition of the word vegan, yet for some reason, too many damn people in the animal liberation movement uphold him as some prominent figure to use as an example of what a strong supporter of animal liberation looks like.
Shit like lab-grown meat is seen as a loophole because it appeals to the human supremacist mindset a lot more. Those who still feel like they don’t want to clear themselves of the mentality that non-human animals are okay to treat as slaves think they need something like lab-grown meat as a crutch just to give animals the basic decency and respect that they deserve, and it still doesn’t do that!
I’m also curious about y’all’s take on imitation meat as well.
Things that emulate hamburger patties and sausage links without involving animal flesh and secretions are fine to me. My mentality has gotten to a point where I’ve distanced that stuff from flesh very well. To me, a burger made out of soy doesn’t make me think of even comparing it to a burger made out of flesh. I literally take it as what it is: a burger made out of soy. It is its own thing to me. With enough time being vegan, I was able to disconnect the association honestly.
I’d have moments where I’d tell a friend that I tried this delicious macaroni and (cashew) cheese recipe while omitting the “cashew” portion of the sentence by mistake because it sometimes doesn’t cross my mind that most people see cheese as something that comes from cow titties. The moments where I snap back into reality and focus on the fact that 99% of the world is carnist, however, end up making me frown.
My galaxy brain take is that all the lab grown meat should go to people I’m always hearing about with weird dietary restrictions or pets who need it. Since it’ll never be able to be produced on the scale that meat is produced now, it’s unethical to eat it unless you have an actual need for it.
Besides, if you stop eating meat regularly it’s harder for your stomach to digest it. There’s excellent imitation meat already anyway.
Good if we can find a way to produce it ethically, efficiently, and at scale, but that’s a big if.
