I had a lively and funny debate at work a couple weeks ago and I would like to pose the debate here.
I am going to ask two questions. But first...Even though you can gleam from the thread's title on what the debate is heading, I am going to clarify one thing: This is NOT about science.
No...This is NOT about the technicalities of laboratory grown meat. I know there are a few educated people here, especially in the biomedical specialty, and that they can easily impress the readers with the 'hows' of lab grown meat. But rather, this is about science and how science continually stays ahead of morality and legality. To be more precise, this is about the relationships between science, morality, and legality.
So here is the first question...
Q: Would you eat lab grown beef ?
A: Of course you would.
This is not about the science of beef safety, hormones, etc. Cattle raised with growth hormones and antibiotics have been around for decades and no real patterns of harm, other than anecdotes, came from them. So let us not quibble with that. The question is not 'Can lab grown beef be safe?' but 'Will lab grown beef be safe?' The answer is yes. Lab grown beef WILL be safe. There may not be a market for it -- yet. But the science for safe lab grown beef is here.
Lab-grown beef taste test: ‘Almost’ like a burger - The Washington Post
The lab grown steak may not taste like cattle raised steak, but a dose of steak sauce or spices will do just fine covering it up.
We took nearly an hour off work to debate a serious topic. Sometimes the debate was serious, sometimes if was funny. I would like to see how many people on this forum are willing to be intellectually honest about this before I pose the second question. If there is no interest, then let the thread die. No biggie.
So...Would YOU eat lab grown beef ?
I would eat it.