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Comment by zitterbewegung | Hacker News Reader

I think this article doesn't actually address the obvious question of the stigma of actually eating in-vitro meat.

It does. It suggests that Europe will take it up before USA, for cultural reasons. It might also be popular in the developing world.

Our food is already processed within an inch of it's life (then a good three yards past it). Tour Spam will be grown in a vat, rather than fed hormones and ground in a factory. Big deal.

You think PETA is unethical? Just wait for the smear campaigns that will crop up when MegaCorp can actually make some money off scaring people out of living meat.

It suggests that Europe will take it up before USA, for cultural reasons.

This mystifies me. All you have to say is "genetically modified" and Europe flips its proverbial wig. Aren't savvy English cattle farmers going to say "Oh-my-Gaia this is Frankenfood! It is unnatural! It is cloned! It probably has DNA in it! Phone your representative, this should be banned!"

(The reference to savvy farmers is an oblique reference to the fact that the difference between GMO soybeans/corn/etc and non-GMO soybeans/corn/etc is that a preference or requirement for non-GMO product shuts American-grown stuff out of the market. What a handy coincidence.)

It suggests that Europe will take it up before USA, for cultural reasons.

I'm european, and I seriously doubt that. I'd say that the US would pick it up before Europe. In Europe, we are much more wary about "unnatural" way of growing things, you just have to see with GMO ...

Postulate two sets of people. Set A consists of those who regularly eat meat, deeply care about the origin of that meat, but care very little about the environmental impact of raising meat and are dismissive of any cruelty or health concerns. Set B consists of folks who are vegetarian or who avoid red meat because of health, environmental, and/or cruelty considerations.

I suspect almost all of set B would eat vat meat and that set B is larger than set A.

I'm in Set B, and would hesitate before eating Vat-meat. I didn't become a vegetarian in order to pretend to eat meat. And if it's on your fork, how do you tell if it's vat meat or not?

Especially the in-vitro human meat. It'll probably cause mad-human disease or zombies.

What stigma? When it's been gussied up with sauce and a fancy abstract plate, the average diner won't even taste the difference - or notice the fine text on the bottom of the menu, next to the Ethical Meats stamp.

Do you know what's in the average hot dog? Hamburger? Package of frozen chicken strips? The fact is that while people do eat a lot of steak, chicken wings, and bacon a lot of meat is merely an ingredient.

I hope that food labeling will take care of that, and that any synthetics will be required to carry clear labeling.

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