Slaughter Free Meat?

​http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=9185&catId=1

Slaughter free meat? Sounds a bit confusing if you don't read the whole story so I'm going to break it down for you guys.

Based in Silicon Valley, Memphis Meats announced this week that their slaughter free (or lab grown) chicken and duck meat would be available to consumers by the year 2021. What is slaughter free meat? Slaughter free meat is meat grown in laboratories by using the cells of the animals. By growing and producing meat that did not include the growth, maintenance, and slaughter of the animals themselves, they are tackling animal welfare, environmental damage, and saving on resources typically associated with the growth and slaughter of these animals. This movement is called the "Clean Meat Movement".

This is definitely great news for animals and will hopefully trigger similar methods by other meat based companies. Can you imagine the amount of chickens saved from abhorrent conditions? The amount of male chicks who will avoid being gassed or crushed simply for being born? The numbers are astronomical! This would be a big step forward for animal welfare in the meat industry.

Now, here's my dilemma. Is lab grown meat the equivalent of gmo produce? Genetically modified produce is still under investigation as far as safety for consumption. We don't know enough about the long term benefits / dangers of regularly consuming gmos at this point but there are plenty of groups who are extremely opposed to the idea. Approximately 25 or more countries have banned the import and production of gmo crops and that number will likely climb the more we learn about the long term effects of these crops.

I wonder about the safety of these lab grown meats. Obviously, time will tell whether they are safe for consumption and the benefits / problems they pose to our health on a long term basis, but I still can't help but think that anything that is manipulated and scientifically modified is questionable. 

If it turns out to be safe, this is definitely a positive step in the right direction for animals. Can you imagine a world where meat eaters can still enjoy their meat and millions of animals every year avoid slaughter? It's the best of both worlds! I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this pans out.

What are your thoughts? Are you skeptical of lab grown meats and their safety for consumption? Comment, Tweet, or FB me with your responses!


HAPPY VEG