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Comment by JoeAltmaier | Hacker News Reader

And my favorite: is lab meat vegetarian? is it vegan? Its certainly not cut from some animal, and nothing got killed to obtain it.

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It depends on whether Fetal Bovine Serum is used to grow the meat. If it is, it's neither vegan or vegetarian.

And what rotted into the soil the vegetables grew in. If it’s far back enough in the process does it matter? It may/may not be relevant, I’m vegetarian.

And this is where vegeterianism/veganism can turn into a religion. Where people start looking for rules as opposed to using logic of why something should be this way. It actually reminds me a lot of how very observant Jews treat the rules for Kosher food.

If you're a vegetarian for ethical or environmental reasons, I'd think lab grown meat is probably totally ok to eat. If you're a vegetarian for health reasons, not sure why you can't eat meat a few meals a month?

All food restrictions are religion. Will you eat sushi? Bugs? Vegetable protein paste? Why not? Most excuses are just religion dressed up.

Here's a train of thought to help illustrate:

I'm not vegan but I'm glad to eat lab-grow meat! Its clearly acceptable for {many reasons}.

Oh, how about meat grown from rats? Tasty and nutritious?

Uh, well, sure I guess.

How about grown from apes?

But...but...that's not...

And our new product: meat from people. Tastes like pork!

No, wait a minute, that's going too far!

The latest fad: meat from people you know! Your spouse! Your kids! Your grandmother!

Blech! I couldn't eat that!

Everybody has a different 'blech' threshold. And its all 'religion'.

Well you're using religion in a very non-standard way. I could just as easily call every single thing you think "religion".

As a moral compass that guides our behavior without logic? Doesn't seem too far off...

> All food restrictions are religion. Will you eat sushi? Bugs? Vegetable protein paste? Why not? Most excuses are just religion dressed up.

What about just that I don't prefer the taste?

For instance, I would have no problem trying meat made in the lab from rats, apes or people.

But I probably wouldn't eat fish or goat or lamb, not because I have some"religious" reason for it.

If a religion can be defined as only a set of personal preferences, it seems like the entire concept of a religion is without a real clear boundary.

I’ve heard it posited that oysters should be on the menu for vegans (one’s who are vegan for ethical rather than dietary choice reasons). The rationale is that oysters specifically have no nervous system in the way that, say, a clam does. In fact, from a capacity to suffer standpoint, they’re roughly equivalent to a carrot.

The other thing is that oyster farming improves water quality and the environment. So, vegans—go crazy I guess!

Vegetarian of 36 years here: I won't have any qualms about eating it.

It is whatever the marketing department says it is.

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