PETA Offers X-Prize for Artificial Meat

Bored MPA writes "The Times reports that PETA is to announce plans on Monday for a $1 million prize to the "first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012." PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk addressed the controversial decision by saying, "We don't mind taking uncomfortable positions if it means that fewer animals suffer." An unexpected and pragmatic move from an organization that has a strong base of support from pro-organic vegans." The question I always had about this- if they can take one sample from one animal and clone it in a vat and feed this world, will the vegans be ok with that?

Hmm...

[Anonymous Coward]

I think I've got a winning idea, thanks to this film [amazon.com]. Hopefully those PETA folks won't ask too many questions. Then things might get... unpleasant.

Isnt fake meat called...

[Mazrim_Ta]

Tofu? I'll take my prize in small bills please.

hmm

[strack]

I like PETA, but I couldn't eat a whole one.

I suggest

[Anonymous Coward]

I suggest we just eat vegetarians. That should solve the problem.

Silly.

[jpellino]

If they're vegans for more than one narrow reason (which they seem to be) this will not make them happy.

I can't recall the comedian, but someone once noted "Why do vegetarians need to make their food (tofu pups, veggieburgers) look like meat they simply wont eat? You don't see monks keeping blow-up dolls just hanging around."

For those who prefer car analogies

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

There is never any point finishing a car analogy on slashdot....

Re:Isnt fake meat called...

[Anonymous Coward]

I know you're trying to be funny here, but in vitro != fake. it just means that it is produced in a lab, in a vat. no live animals are needed. of course, some people might feel uncomfortable eating meat that's never been "alive", but apart from the peta pet peeve of animal suffering, it might be a solution to this whole cows-farting-methane-thereby-causing-global-warming-thing. plus, you could engineer the meat to be as tasty as you want, like those kobe cows...hmm....

Re:hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Fuck PETA - I've got a rather small one-eyed tube steak they can munch on.

Re:PETA?

[bluelip]

PETA loves meat. You do know it stands for People Eating Tasty Animals, right? :)

Re:What about human?

[giafly]

Why oppress animals to take DNA samples, why not just clone human flesh [courageunfettered.com]?

Why clone human flesh, why not just eat dead people? You know they'd eat you if they could [urbandictionary.com].

Re:Interesting...

[Hijacked Public]

My experience leads me to believe that you are unusual among vegans, or even among people who are fashionably vegetarian for some short period of time.

For many of your dietary bretheren giving up the opportunity to sit in coffee shop wearing pantaloons and blurt out pseudo facts about how meat eaters are killing themselves and the planet and all the animals would be too much to bear. I think they would continue to oppose in vitro meat just to preserve that pastime.

Torchwood did it (and did it, and did it..)

[Rob T Firefly]

If scientists are swiping there ideas from Torchwood episodes [wikipedia.org] nowadays, they'd better be prepared to start shagging each other and coming back from the dead on a regular basis as well.

Re:hmm

[Zappa]

PETA ?
Is this an acronym for "People Eating Tasty Animals" ?

Re:Cloning Tissue or Whole Animal?

[gunnk]

Hmmm... I could clone my own tissue for sale and put up a giant sign that reads "Eat Me".

Might be worth it.

Re:Interesting...

[easyTree]

...to the point of only eating certain M&M's because one of the dyes isn't completely animal-free

bah! that's borderline enjoying-your-food (not that i'm saying m&m`s are food). everyone knows that the 'safe' m&m`s touch the 'unsafe' ones in the packet so any '_real_' vegan will avoid m&m`s altogether.
--
warning: post may contain failed attempt at humor.

Re:Cloning Tissue or Whole Animal?

[pipatron]

No fucking way! That's outrageous!

It would never be the same as the original.

Another use:

[Gription]

Hmmm... I could clone my own tissue for sale and put up a giant sign that reads "Eat Me". Might be worth it.

You could market it to help settle divorce desputes...

"Here is that pound of flesh you ordered..."

Re:They are unpleasant already

[Applekid]

"Are you classified as human?"
"Negative, I am a meat popcicle."

HHGTG

[TheLink]

How about like the HHGTG: Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Instead of artificial meat, you breed a cow that _wants_ to be eaten, and will indicate so. :)

Re:Interesting...

[dintech]

I think he was talking about you actually...

Bravo!

[SnapShot]

Whatever you may think about PETA's tactics, at least in this case they are putting their money where our mouths are.

Why bother with artificial meat?

[Ralph Spoilsport]

The planet has almost seven billion people on it. That's a lot of meat, and we wouldn't be harming sweet little animals by eating them. I think we should start with the Americans. They're fat and lazy, so they're easy to catch - kind of like dodo birds without the feathers.

They'll fry up really nicely. And then we can start on the Chinese and the Indians. There's lots of them, so that's a herd that'll take a long time to cull out. In fact, we may never even need to eat the bony butts of east africa.

Just a modest proposal is all I'm suggesting...

RS

Re:They are unpleasant already

[penguin_dance]

Why don't you come over for dinner sometime? I'm making some fava beans. Please bring a nice Chianti....

Re:Interesting...

[brainproxy]

Even so, people feel the need to be apologetic when they order a stake if we go to dinner. My response is: "It's your body. Put into it what you what...(sic)"

Are you a vampire?

Re:They are unpleasant already

[spidercoz]

We kill flies and mosquitoes because they're pests. We kill cows and chickens because we're hungry. We kill pheasants and quails because it's fun, and we're hungry. We kill people because they're pests, and it's fun.

With apologies to George Carlin

Re:They are unpleasant already

[PetiePooo]

However, one of my colleagues who is vegan says that you don't need supplements; there are specific types of nuts and stuff which contain the relevant nutrients. He seems perfectly healthy.

You say he seems perfectly healthy; I say he's nuts and stuff.

Re:They are unpleasant already

[gnick]

...perhaps the PETA people might want to sponsor some genetic engineering research to allow humans to digest the plant matter that cows can eat that we can't.

I actually eat grass all of the time, it just needs to be preprocessed before it's ready for direct consumption. Personally, I run it through a cow, have the butcher extract it once it's ready, and then grill it up and enjoy it. Grass can be delicious when properly prepared.

Re:They are unpleasant already

[Anonymous Coward]

If you again refer to the logetivity section, vegetarians have lower mortality rates than meat eaters.

Awh, man, I'm so sorry to have to be the one to break this news to you, but at the present time, all human beings of any (every!) class, race, or other arbitrary segregation have exactly the same mortality rate, which is 100%.

On the upside, now that you know we're all gonna die, you can go back to loving the taste of a well-prepared steak (or juicy hamburger!) knowing that our immortality exists only insofar as we're all just stardust in one form or another...

-AC

Re:Isnt fake meat called...

[gnick]

...wouldn't it just be easier to genetically engineer cows without souls?

But the soul's the best part! Mmmm... Fillet of soul...

Re:They are unpleasant already

[Belial6]

"Sorry, I just find people who use your kind of logic a bit simple, but I guess if you want to justify your lifestyle and continue stuffing dead animals in your mouth three times a day, backed by completely natural factory farms and a host of ghouls who enjoy working in meat packing plants (I've known a couple of them) then just do it."

Talk about people being simple. Another vegetarian trying to take the high ground when their kind murders trillions of the most defenseless life forms on the planet, but if you want to justify your lifestyle and continue stuffing dead plants as well as still living victims into your mouth three times a day, backed by completely natural factory farms and a host of ghouls who enjoy working in plant packing plants then just do it.

Where are you people when the florists open their doors. The poor life forms that are being murdered for that industry are not even being used for food. Ghouls (thats what we are calling people who kill, right?) then put them in their homes and watch them die.

Re:They are unpleasant already

[Sabz5150]

What's supposed to happen to me if I don't eat meat?

You become prey.

Re:They are unpleasant already

[cayenne8]

I dunno. I've been a vagitarian for years. Plenty of protein....a seafood diet of sorts.

Re:They are unpleasant already

[Anonymous Coward]

How does not eating meat result in a diminished quality of life, exactly?

Savouring the experience of eating a perfectly cooked eye-of-round, filet mignon, prime rib, rack of lamb or similiar choice cut of meat (with appropriate garnishes and sides!) is an experience as close to nirvana as anything on earth barring REALLY good sex.

No matter how else you may be enjoying your life, willfully depriving yourself of the inherent joie-de-vivre of such opportunities thusly dimishes your life experience accordingly...

-AC

Re:They are unpleasant already

[Anonymous Coward]

>vegetarians have lower mortality rates than meat eaters.

Um, hate to break it to you, Sparky, but Death comes one to a customer. You should be more precise in your phrasing.

And, vegetarians don't live longer, it just FEELS longer - sorta like the time I spent married to my ex-wife *grin*.

I'm just sayin...

Re:They are unpleasant already

[ross.w]

People Eating Tasty Animals

Re:They are unpleasant already

[tautog]

You're posting on Slashdot, so I doubt the validity of your statement... :-P

Re:They are unpleasant already

[AlphaWolf_HK]

Whats supposed to happen? Well, after the 13th year...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/687996.stm [bbc.co.uk]

Vegetarian diets are not natural.