How Science and Technology have rocked 29 years of belief.
Animal activists and Environmentalists must support this industry in order for them to achieve their goals.My Background
I was born and raised a vegetarian and have often been on a vegan diet throughout my life. Meat has never been a palatable option for me. Only until later in my life did I realize how well the reasons for not consuming meat aligned with who I am. I am happy to say that I do not contribute to factory farming, deforestation, or having to unnecessarily take the lives of other living beings. I feel as though the carbon footprint of my diet is relatively low compared to the average person. My family has cared for its own chickens for our eggs And I have worked on a farm during different periods of my life.
Some Facts
With new products produced by companies like New Wave Foods, I'm finding that I will have to re-evaluate my belief system when it comes to meat. I do not want to go into all the harmful environmental effects that animal agriculture has on the environment in this article but here's some food for thought on the quick facts on water consumption from treehugger.com which I checked with this LA Times article.
Source: TreeHugger
I chose to focus on water because I feel like that will be one of the next biggest commodities at risk. At least that is what Dr. Michael J. Burry who predicted the 2008 financial crisis is investing in.
The Dilemma
The real dilemma I face is that this new synthetic meat is grown from stem cells in the lab. That means there is no animal suffering the production of the meat, it will be more efficient, and less harmful to the environment than any methods we currently have to supply the global population with meat. Of course, the first hamburger produced in the lab cost €250,000. As the technology progresses, it is predicted that this method of supplying meat will become far more cost-effective. Growing up a vegetarian, the very thought of putting meat in my mouth has always disgusted me. I often imagined being stranded on a desert island with no food except meat and I have wondered if I would eat it. I often come to the conclusion that I would let myself starve, but I know that is silly because when I look to science; Science tells us that our brain and who we are changes when faced with severe starvation. As we have learned from Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 and the Donner Party. Even so, I'd like to think I'd have the conscious choice to let myself starve. I most likely would not choose to... As you can see I go back and forth with this idea. I love life but hate the thought of eating meat. Also in my ponderings, I have always imagined that the only way I would eat meat would be if I hunted it myself so I could fully understand the relationship between me and the animal.
Source: Nature.com
Clearly, the issue of life and death is not involved in my current situation. Meat is a clump of cells, just like the plants I eat every day. From what I've read, every person that has tried it considers it meat. It is my understanding that it only lacks the fat and I am sure that will soon change.
**The Pros: **
This technology May finally bring down factory farming and all of its harmful effect on the environment.
I may decide to taste all the things people are telling me I've been missing over the course of my life.
No more animals will have to give up their life for human consumption.
Most people are already so disconnected from where their meat comes from so I'm sure this can become widely acceptable, especially if it were to be cheaper than farm-raised animal meat.
The Cons:
Part of me thinks meat is a strong carcinogenic.
The few times I had mistakenly had meat I deplored the taste.
Meat will be acquired a taste for me.
I no longer have the snooty lifelong vegetarian title to hang over people's heads.
Conclusion
I'm happy that there's technology out here like this. I feel like people have been so disconnected from where their food comes, whether it's vegetables, meat, grain, spice, roots, or any other type of food. Slipping synthetic meat into their diet won't be a big step beyong the current state of the relationship between food and people. The biggest challenge I see would be the effects on the animal agricultural industry and their lobbyists. All and all the new synthectic meat industry may have some unlikely supporters. The irony.
The Video that inspired this post today, although synthetic meat has been on my radar for a number of months now.
PS 
Cover Image Source