Introduction & Biological Background
Animal meat has been a primary source of protein for humans since the beginning of time, yet with an increase in technology and biological knowledge – scientists have been able to create meat without the killing of animals. The ‘victimless-meat’ as it is commonly referred to, is in fact in-vitro, meaning that it has been created in a laboratory.
In-Vitro meat is cultured from the stem cells of eukaryotes most commonly derived in the blood drawn from an animal’s bovine foetus. The process of extracting stem cells from the blood of foetal bovine serum means that the resulting cultured animal flesh has not been harmfully taking from a living animal. When developing in-vitro meat, tissue growth promoting …show more content…
There are many ethical, cultural, economic and religious views that must be taken into consideration when discussing the controversial topic of in-vitro meats and their place in our present and future society. People opposed to the idea of in-vitro meat as a replacement for animal meat products, argue that the process of producing in-vitro meat will be too costly and hence result in expensive prices for consumers. In addition to the expected expenses associated with in-vitro meat, it is argued that the culturing procedure is beyond what man should be capable of – and from religious views; in-vitro meat is going against what god intended animals for. Conversely, many people are ‘pro in-vitro’ and argue the environmental side of cultured meat, believing that the environment will be positively impacted when the production of livestock is made redundant. The benefits of in-vitro meat and the large quantity that can be produced in a short amount of time are argued to be superior against the inefficient production of meat through …show more content…
It is estimated that only 10 cells would be cultured into over 10,000 tonnes of meat in only two months (Douglas McFarland, 2009). Conventional animal farming takes a great amount of time when compared to the rate of which meat cells are cultured. The rapid and sustainable growth of animal tissue and the ability to control the yield of meat from tissue engineering has persuaded people to be ‘pro in-vitro’. With the worldly consumption of meat increasing in emerging countries such as China and India, conventional animal farming will be futile in meeting demands (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2015). In-vitro meat is looked upon positively considering its ability of meeting the meat demands of the growing population through tissue engineering. Some people consider the consumption of in-vitro meat as not just a possibility, but believe it is inevitable as the population increases and therefore have confidence that it’s just a matter of when society will make the switch. Disregarding religious views and the initial economics of in-vitro meat production, the positive arguments for meat culturing highlight the ‘minimal negative environmental impacts’ and the ability to ‘comfortably feed our entire population’ using in-vitro meat (Douglas McFarland,
Animal meat has been a primary source of protein for humans since the beginning of time, yet with an increase in technology and biological knowledge – scientists have been able to create meat without the killing of animals. The ‘victimless-meat’ as it is commonly referred to, is in fact in-vitro, meaning that it has been created in a laboratory.
In-Vitro meat is cultured from the stem cells of eukaryotes most commonly derived in the blood drawn from an animal’s bovine foetus. The process of extracting stem cells from the blood of foetal bovine serum means that the resulting cultured animal flesh has not been harmfully taking from a living animal. When developing in-vitro meat, tissue growth promoting …show more content…
There are many ethical, cultural, economic and religious views that must be taken into consideration when discussing the controversial topic of in-vitro meats and their place in our present and future society. People opposed to the idea of in-vitro meat as a replacement for animal meat products, argue that the process of producing in-vitro meat will be too costly and hence result in expensive prices for consumers. In addition to the expected expenses associated with in-vitro meat, it is argued that the culturing procedure is beyond what man should be capable of – and from religious views; in-vitro meat is going against what god intended animals for. Conversely, many people are ‘pro in-vitro’ and argue the environmental side of cultured meat, believing that the environment will be positively impacted when the production of livestock is made redundant. The benefits of in-vitro meat and the large quantity that can be produced in a short amount of time are argued to be superior against the inefficient production of meat through …show more content…
It is estimated that only 10 cells would be cultured into over 10,000 tonnes of meat in only two months (Douglas McFarland, 2009). Conventional animal farming takes a great amount of time when compared to the rate of which meat cells are cultured. The rapid and sustainable growth of animal tissue and the ability to control the yield of meat from tissue engineering has persuaded people to be ‘pro in-vitro’. With the worldly consumption of meat increasing in emerging countries such as China and India, conventional animal farming will be futile in meeting demands (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2015). In-vitro meat is looked upon positively considering its ability of meeting the meat demands of the growing population through tissue engineering. Some people consider the consumption of in-vitro meat as not just a possibility, but believe it is inevitable as the population increases and therefore have confidence that it’s just a matter of when society will make the switch. Disregarding religious views and the initial economics of in-vitro meat production, the positive arguments for meat culturing highlight the ‘minimal negative environmental impacts’ and the ability to ‘comfortably feed our entire population’ using in-vitro meat (Douglas McFarland,